Kopa's Legacy — Book III: Heirs of the Pride
by Incarnate Firefly
Summary: Having learned that his long-lost son Kopa was alive, Simba sets out with his pride to rescue him from the clutches of a vengeful lioness. However, Kopa escapes first, this time with a score of his own to settle. With the help of an unlikely ally, he plans to bring down Janga, and feels a darkness growing in his heart that he doesn't want to fight... [Readers' rating: 9.6/10]
1. Prologue

**[Author's Note]**

**Guess what? I've bumped up the publish date again! What can I say, sometimes it's harder for me to keep you all waiting than it is for you to do the actual waiting. But yeah, I got through editing book 3 a lot faster than I first expected, and this is the result. Well, why am I still forcing you to read this note? Let's get started!  
**

* * *

_Why do I feel as if I can't trust anymore?_

Janga lay silently in the chamber, reflecting on the events of the last few days. She was looking out a medium-sized hole in the wall facing the outside of Mount Tempest, and although it didn't offer a very broad field of view, it was large enough to let fresh air and sunlight inside. Not that the weather was particularly cheerful today; she could see a large formation of storm clouds gathering in the distant grey sky, and she could feel a chilly wind flowing in as if in warning of the imminent rainstorm. It was as if her moody disposition was influencing the weather.

She was in Malka's private den, located on one of the highest levels in the mountain, and the hole faced the expansive grasslands stretching out from the edge of the mountain range where the stronghold was located. The hole slanted downward, with the rock above it carved carefully to form a sheath of stone also pointing diagonally, which would cover the hole from rain. Inside the chamber, there was a small channel dug into the stone floor that ran parallel to the wall, with a small hole on either end where it met the two adjacent walls. A gentle stream of clean water constantly flowed along the conduit.

It was just a small indication of the many ways Malka's pride had made themselves comfortable at Mount Tempest. While exploring the depths of the stronghold after forcibly taking it from his pride, Janga found herself admiring many of its elaborate and clever designs. Just a week ago, she had contemplated making similar adjustments to Pride Rock once it was hers, but her attention had been drawn to more startling matters since then, and right now even thinking about her former home put her off her motivation. She had escaped Scar before she had even reached adolescence, and since then the thought of taking back her home was the only thing that had kept her moving forward. But everything she had worked towards, all she had hoped for once she defeated the Pridelanders, it only left a bitter taste in her mouth now.

_I had this all planned for years. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I wasn't expecting so many...setbacks._

But even the setbacks she could handle. Janga was not one to do things without a backup plan, and no matter if things were at their worst, she was usually resourceful enough to work it to her advantage. But this...this wasn't merely a setback. It was a shock, an unacceptable calamity, something she had tried to make sure would never happen. Worst of all, it was irreversible.

Her mother, Sarabi, was dead. But that wasn't the worst of it. She had been killed by Janga's very own lions, the ones she had instructed specifically _not _to harm her.

It was no mistake on Janga's part, of course. She had no idea why Sarabi was so close to Mount Tempest when she had found her wounded and dying in the forest adjacent to the mountain range. But it didn't matter anymore; what Janga wanted to know was why her own followers killed her mother, and who had instructed them to do it.

When Janga saw them standing over Sarabi's body, she had ordered her team to kill them. Every single one of them, hunted down and killed like prey. She had recognized them too; they were under the command of Jeraha, her lifelong friend and one of the lions she had trusted most. But Jeraha himself was nowhere to be found, and she was now wondering if he had broken the vow they had made together all those years ago, and betrayed her for reasons she couldn't fathom. _Where is he? I haven't heard from him ever since he left to find __Fujo__._

Fujo, Malka's brother, was a key component to the success of Janga's plan and a major reason they had been able to take Mount Tempest in the first place. He was crafty and unpredictable, and she was doubtful that she could trust him after she had no further use for him. She guessed that he was out in the grasslands somewhere, wreaking havoc behind his brother's back. But she had received no word yet that Malka was dead, and that troubled her as well. _Everything began slipping out of control from the moment I saw Jeraha's team attacking my mother. And I don't even know who I can trust now. Not even my pride, the pride whose loyalty I've never had to question until now._

Janga sighed as her thoughts returned to Sarabi, her tension and suspicion giving way to resignation. _What am I doing, mother? I had been hoping we could be together again. What does all this mean for me now that you're gone?_

She recalled Sarabi's last words to her. "_Find __Simba__...he is your family now._" But as much as Janga trusted her mother, it was something she couldn't bring herself to heed, even if it was her dying wish. Not after what had happened with—

_Mheetu__._

Janga liked to think of herself as controlled and rational, but just thinking about his name was enough to send a ripple of anger coursing through her being, igniting her emotions with a fury that no one and nothing else could awaken. She was sure that she hated him, but in a way, she hated herself more for letting him get to her like this just through a single thought. But she wouldn't try to forget him; no, she would keep him in her mind, remind herself that her trust was not something to be given away to anyone.

The throne was hers, of that she was certain. But there was no way Simba was just going to give it up, and Janga wasn't about to make the same mistake twice by giving him the chance she had given Mheetu. She wasn't giving anyone that chance, ever again. _Wherever Mheetu is, I'll find him sooner or later. And when I do, I'll show him what I'm really capable of. What he's made me capable of._

Sarabi obviously would have no idea what had happened between her and Mheetu, but she wouldn't have asked Janga to trust Simba if she did. Either way, the Pridelanders would never accept her as one of them because of her relation to Scar, and she wasn't about to let them keep her away from her home just because her father was a selfish tyrant. And she sure wasn't going to waver in her resolve just because one king had been brought down in favour of another.

_And I haven't forgotten how I lost my sisters because of __Nala__...she will pay for their lives, and so will Simba, and so will Mheetu..._

There would be no lies to tell, no deceit to lay out. Janga would let them fight to defend their home as hard as she would to get it back. But first, she would make sure that her pride, who she had believed to be unified all this time, was free of the traitors like the ones that had killed Sarabi. She would root them out before taking another step forward in her plan. Trust was one thing that had kept their pride together all this time. She was not about to let everything fall apart by losing it.

Janga's thoughts were interrupted by a dull thundering sound that echoed outside the chamber; it sounded almost like a lion's roar, but she sensed that it was something else, a force that was much more powerful. She could feel the subtle vibrations shuddering through the stone beneath her paws, and actually wondered for a moment if something in the mountain was coming down. She got up immediately and dashed out of the chamber; whether or not she should move to a safer location, she had to see what had occurred.

The two lions standing guard outside had felt the reverberations too and were looking around nervously, but they maintained their composure as Janga dashed past them. She headed down one level after another, following the route she had memorized that would lead her to Mount Tempest's main entrance. What could have happened now? If it was another treacherous act from someone in the pride, she would make them pay...

* * *

**[Author's Note]  
**

**What is Janga's history with Mheetu, you ask? Sorry, you'll just have to wait and see! ;)  
**

* * *

**[Original Character Names]**

**Janga:** Disaster

**Jeraha:** Wound

**Fujo:** Aggresive

**[Canon Character Names]**

**Malka: **Queen**  
**

**Scar: **Scar (English)**  
**

**Sarabi: **Mirage**  
**

**Simba: **Lion**  
**

**Mheetu: **Me too (Africanization)**  
**

**Nala: **Prosperity


	2. Reprisal By Blood

"_When you feel you're alone, cut off from this cruel world,_  
_Your instinct's telling you to run_  
_Listen to your heart, those angel voices,_  
_They'll sing to you, they'll be your guide back home._

_When you've suffered enough, and your spirit is breaking,  
You're growing desperate from the fight  
Remember you're loved, and you always will be,  
This melody will bring you right back home._

_When life leaves us blind, love keeps us kind_  
_It keeps us kind._"

—Linkin Park

* * *

Tumaini glanced at Kopa for what seemed like the hundredth time as they walked deeper into Mount Tempest, led by six other lions that were arranged in a formation around them. Well, walked was a pretty gentle term for him, since he was putting most of his weight on Kopa and his three working paws. The fourth dragged limply along the floor, but right now he didn't have the energy to make his moving stance any less awkward.

Right now, his injuries weren't what concerned him, or even his own well-being at all, for that matter. He had known as soon as his leg was broken by the rock that had fallen on him that he wasn't going to escape the lions coming after him. He had accepted his fate, and would have been glad to know his friends and the other prisoners managed to escape. He could have lived with that, or even died knowing that everyone else was safe.

But Kopa had picked the worst time to show his stubborn side, deciding to give up his chance to escape even though there was nothing stopping him from doing so. Although Tumaini was rather touched by his friend's steadfast resolve to stay with him, he was far more concerned with what would become of Kopa now that they were both in this predicament.

After all, they were being taken to Janga, the leader of the pride that held them prisoner and the reason for their recent troubles. And he had no illusions that Janga would be in any way merciful; not so long ago, Kopa had accidentally brought a rockslide down on her and her best lions, thwarting their plan to attack Pride Rock and leaving most of them dead. Not to mention Janga herself had probably been heavily injured from the incident. And just now, they had helped all of her prisoners escape from under her nose, which would probably anger her even more when she found out about it.

_What kind of leader is she?_ he wondered. He had gotten up-close impressions of her accomplices; Jeraha, a muscular and brutal lion he had once taken on in a brief fight, and the one who had captured them, and Kivuli, a cunning lioness who was the one now guiding them into the upper levels of Mount Tempest to meet Janga. But he had never seen Janga herself, except from what he could make out of her when he observed her from a distance in the gorge. _How did she manage to take Mount Tempest from our entire pride like this? Is she so proficient that she figured out the layout of the entire mountain as well as the surrounding area, and actually used it _against _us? _The thought didn't give Tumaini any optimism as they moved up yet another level.

His injured paw brushed against a protruding rock in the floor, and he winced as a sharp pain shot up his hind leg. Kopa saw it and looked at him with concern, but Tumaini just shook his head silently, indicating that he was fine.

_Kopa, what were you thinking?_ He thought with a grimace. _She wants you, not me, don't you see that? You should have gone with __Mateka_ _and __Siri__..._

Tumaini felt a pang as he thought of how Siri had given up her title as Malka's heir because she believed it was rightfully his. _She was always on my side, always believed in me. Who knows, maybe my father would have betrothed us when this was all over. Could that be why she stepped down from her inheritance, because she didn't want that to happen? Well, looks like she might have to be the heir again, and this time she won't have to worry about me..._

_Sorry, father. I didn't think our time together would be so short._ It wasn't a very encouraging thought, but Tumaini had already made up his mind. No matter what it cost him, he would do everything he could to make sure Kopa escaped Janga, and whether he himself got away was inconsequential. _I don't see how I'm going to get away with a broken leg. But Kopa has a chance, and I'll make sure he gets it._

※※※

Kopa was filled with his own thoughts as he helped Tumaini stumble through the tunnels, trying to make sure they weren't moving too fast for his injured friend to keep up. He wished that the guards would walk a bit more slowly, since Tumaini was clearly struggling not to lag behind, but Kivuli was clearly unconcerned with whether or not they were comfortable with their pacing.

No matter how focused Kopa was on helping Tumaini walk, he couldn't push the main issue out of his mind. They were trapped, outnumbered, and being taken to the vindictive lioness who would decide their fate. He didn't see how they were going to get away from their predicament this time. But that didn't mean he regretted what he did at all. _We've always been there for each other. I couldn't abandon him. If we escape, we'll escape together. If we die, we'll die together..._

As childish as he knew it sounded, it wouldn't have been fair if Kopa left without him. After all, it could have very well been him in Tumaini's place, leg broken and unable to escape. There was no question to it when he was given the choice to run or stay behind. Even his family would have to wait.

_My family... _His thoughts shifted momentarily to the lions he hadn't seen since he was a cub and whom he had been unable to remember until recently. He had even gotten to meet a childhood friend from his pride, Mateka, who remembered him even after all this time. _She'll find them. They'll know we're here. Malka and Siri...and my parents...they wouldn't leave us here..._

Tumaini had a family too. And Kopa would never have lived it down to leave him imprisoned while he himself was free and reunited with his family. Especially given the fact that he had figured out that Afua, Tumaini's younger brother, was actually another of Kopa's forgotten friends and still with the Pridelanders. _I even remember what he looks like. At least, what he looked like when he was a cub. _The dream containing one of his memories about Afua was still so vivid in his mind.

At this, Kopa was also reminded of the lioness cub that had often frequented his dreams. She had to be grown now, around the same age as him. He still didn't know her name, but he wondered momentarily if it was Mateka. No, she didn't look quite like her, he could figure that out despite the fact that he couldn't completely remember what Mateka looked like as a cub. _And there's something else...different. I just have a feeling she isn't her._

_Would Mateka have known who she was? I should have asked... _But their time together was very brief, and Kopa would never have thought he and Tumaini would be separated from everyone else like this.

As his thoughts returned to their current predicament, the full extent of what they were in for hit him for the first time. He felt a wave of frustration overcome him when he remembered that bad luck was the only reason they were still at Mount Tempest. _We were so close,_ he thought. _So close to getting away from all this._ He didn't know how likely he and Tumaini were to escape, but his frustration soon gave way to determination. They would not die here. They would not be imprisoned for long. He had no idea how they were going to escape, but he knew that they had come too close for it all to end like this. _I'll find a way for us to get out of this. And we'll make it out of here together._

There was no time for further thought, as he and Tumaini were halted at a large stone chamber. Kopa recognized it as the prison chamber, where lions were held inside the small dens that were blocked off by large, heavy, boulders. They were all empty now, and the chamber itself was unguarded, save for a brown-furred lioness who stepped into the chamber from an opposite tunnel. Her orange eyes were fixed on them, and her expression was completely unreadable. Kopa didn't even need to exchange glances with Tumaini to know that they both recognized who it was. And he couldn't bring himself to look away, for it was the first time he had come face-to-face with her and he realized how petrifying it truly was to be in her presence.

"So," said Janga. "I've finally got you, Kopa."

Her voice was neither angry or condescending, and yet Kopa felt a pulse of fear at being addressed like this. There was something about the way she spoke that was positively unnerving. And yet as he locked eyes with her, he couldn't help but notice how she had the exact same eyes as his grandmother, Sarabi. How those gentle, kind eyes could also hold so much malignity, he didn't know. And despite the visibly fearsome traits that Jeraha and Kivuli held respectively, there was something about Janga that made her far more intimidating than either of them. It was as if she was driven by an unfathomable force beyond the natural, almost omnipotent.

"The other prisoners have all escaped, thanks to them," said Kivuli, breaking the spell. Janga looked to her briefly before returning her gaze to Kopa. Her expression remained unchanged.

"It doesn't matter," she replied calmly. "I have who I'm looking for. I had no further use for the others. Whether they live or die is none of my concern now."

Kopa felt that he should be secretly relieved at her disinterest in going after Mateka and the others, but her words proved only to unnerve him further. It was a decision made out of indifference rather than any actual interest in the former prisoners, and he had no mistake that she could probably hunt them down if she really felt like it. He almost looked away, wondering what was going through Tumaini's mind at this exchange, but he forced himself to keep his eyes on Janga. As if he could hold his resolve together as long as he maintained his gaze.

"Do you have many friends, Kopa?" she asked suddenly, but still in that same flat tone.

The question caught him off guard. It sounded far too casual and very out of place considering the tension that he could feel increasing in the air. He shook his head slowly.

Janga's eyes flicked to Tumaini before returning to him; it happened so quickly that Kopa wasn't even sure if he imagined it. "Well, I do. You've seen my pride now that you've decided to come here and rescue your friends. Admirable, I admit; if you were freeing them from anyone else I would have thought highly of your courage. But unfortunately for you, you have a tendency of getting in my way."

He didn't know how to respond to this, so he didn't say anything. She continued, however. "If you think this pride is made up of my...followers, servants, lions I think are below me, you are mistaken. I value each and every one of their lives as much as I do my own." Her eyes glimmered with a hint of something he didn't quite like. "And you killed fifteen of them in a single heartbeat." Her voice was softer now, more dangerous.

"You were going to attack Pride Rock," Kopa said defiantly, finding his voice and trying to keep it steady.

"So I was," she replied. "But I'm curious...what concern is that to a lion who has lived so far from the Pridelands? As my search teams inform me, and I have no reason not to believe them, you were all the way on the other side of the grasslands when you found that lioness my teams were chasing after she listened in on my plans."

He realized that Janga was unaware that he was Simba's son, unaware that she herself was related to Kopa. But some instinct told him that it would be wiser not to reveal this to her, and said only, "I...did what I thought was right."

Annoyance entered her expression for the first time, and she said in a low voice, "It irks me that you have the gall to interfere with my plans, when you know _nothing _about why I'm doing this. I'm not invading Pride Rock, I'm taking it back. I have a right to it."

"No," he blurted, before he could think.

"What did you say?" she said, her eyes narrowing.

"No, you don't," he said, realizing it was too late to back down. He decided to say what he was thinking while he could still keep himself composed. "The rightful leader is Simba, not you."

Kopa felt a blunt pain on the right side of his face as she struck him, knocking him to the cold stony floor. Tumaini tried to move towards him, ignoring his broken leg, but he was easily restrained by the guards. Janga was staring down at him, her expression once again neutral.

"You've already ruined my chances of taking Simba's pride by surprise," she said, sounding remarkably calm. "Don't push your luck, Kopa. Or I may just have to silence you right now."

He got up slowly, ignoring the stinging feeling on his cheek. He glared back at her with an unchecked hostility. "Then do it. You're just like Scar anyway. You'll end up like him too, if you try to beat Simba—"

It happened too fast for anyone in the room to react. Janga deftly turned away from Kopa, and before he could comprehend what was about to happen, she sank her claws deep into Tumaini's throat.

Tumaini didn't react for a moment, looking more surprised than anything. Then she pulled back, her claws coming away with blood and chunks of flesh. He crumpled with a gasp of agony as crimson spurted from his neck.

"No!" shouted Kopa, sinking down to the floor beside him. He desperately tried to staunch the blood that was pouring out of his friend's throat, but couldn't even hold him still. Tumaini jerked and twitched before him, his fur becoming drenched in a pool of his own blood. His eyes met Kopa's for a brief moment, and his mouth twitched as if to say something. And then the light vanished from Tumaini's irises, and he became still.

"No..." Kopa whispered, unable to accept what he was seeing. He felt a sickening feeling rising in his stomach, and he just wanted to crouch there and shut out everything around him. It couldn't have happened—it _didn't _happen—

"I think I'd rather let you live," said Janga softly from behind him. He flinched as if the force of her words were actually hurting him. "I'll give you time to reflect on this. Now that you can feel the same pain that you inflicted on me. It hurts, doesn't it?"

Kopa bared his teeth and leaped up, lunging at her. She was wrong. The pain she had felt couldn't be anywhere close to the corrosive feeling that was eating away at him from the inside. He wanted to attack, to maim, to kill until she _did _feel the same pain...

He was immediately forced down onto the floor by the guards, but still he fought. He clawed and pushed and bit at them until they had his paws firmly pinned down and he could only writhe furiously. He watched as Janga turned away and strode towards the hallway leading out of the chamber. "Throw him into one of the dens. Actually, put them both in the same one." She looked over her shoulder. "I'll talk to you soon, Kopa. Maybe by then you'll reconsider whether you still think I'm like Scar." With that, she disappeared into one of the tunnels.

He was hauled over to the nearest den, resisting every step of the way. As one of the lions went to roll aside the boulder blocking the entrance, Kopa managed to struggle free. He slashed one guard in the flank; a second tried to grab him, and Kopa clawed him in the eye; he turned and knocked down a third guard with a hard sweep of his paw, before Kivuli pounced on him and knocked him senseless with a clenched fist. The guards picked him up and dragged him limply into the den. Kivuli hefted Tumaini's motionless form and flung him in after Kopa.

He didn't get up as he heard the rock sliding back into place. He just lay there, feeling the cold and damp from the floor sink into his fur and the side of his face. He wanted to just stay where he was, to stop thinking, stop _feeling_—

The image burned itself in his mind, and he could feel each vivid moment of it ripping at him. He saw the cold, deliberate expression on Janga's face as she moved towards Tumaini, seeing her claws pierce his flesh, hearing that horrible tearing sound as she ripped his throat out. Kopa squeezed his eyes shut, although it didn't block out the terrible thing he didn't want to see.

Kopa abruptly leaped to his paws and let out a long, drawn-out roar. What he was roaring at, he didn't know, but he hoped there were guards outside to hear it. He wanted to let out his agony, and let it be heard by the others until they understood how he felt. He roared and roared, wishing he could release everything inside him until he was empty.

And yet he couldn't find reprieve. As his breath finally ran out and he collapsed next to Tumaini, completely drained of energy, his overwhelming feelings of grief slithered back to wrap itself around him. He stared into his friend's sightless eyes, and couldn't even pretend that there was someone behind them staring back at him.

"I'm sorry," Kopa whispered, wishing Tumaini could hear it. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." He said it over and over again, as an unheard lament to everyone who had ever cared about Tumaini. Malka...Siri..._Afua_...

_Afua. His long-lost brother. He was going to see him again, going to make things right with him...he's never going to meet him... _Kopa put one paw over his eyes and covered his face. This was his own fault. He had provoked Janga, dared her into killing him.

"We've always been there for each other," he murmured, hardly aware that he was talking out loud. He should have known that she would find a way to hurt him.

"..I couldn't abandon him..."

_But what if I did? Would Tumaini still be alive? Would he have escaped on his own?_

"...if we escape, we'll escape together..."

_I couldn't risk it. If I left him, I don't know if I would have seen him again. If I escaped now, then I would have stayed behind for nothing. _But wasn't it already, now that he was alone? Now that the one he had stayed for was dead?

"...if we die..."

No, he wouldn't try to escape. Janga could do with him whatever she saw fit. He felt a numbness take hold of him. Tumaini's death now felt like a dull, throbbing pain, but it was almost a relief. What happened next didn't matter now. Whether death came for Kopa soon or a long way off, he would wait for it patiently.

"...we'll die together."

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**Not a very happy start to the story, is it? I don't think any one of you expected something like that to happen in the first chapter, and to one of my most important characters too, no less. But while your mind is still in its state of disbelief, let me just tell you this: you may have seen the end of Tumaini's story, but that doesn't mean you've seen all of it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's fine too. I plan to make each sequel more ambitious and emotional than its predecessor, but there's going to be more to it than just death. Believe me when I say that everything that happens in this story happens for a reason, and you may find yourself caught by surprise more than once by the plot developments. Just keep in mind that I have a plan for all this, and the more unpredictable I can make these stories, the better.  
**

* * *

**[Original Character Names]  
**

**Tumaini: **Hope

**Kivuli: **Shadow**  
**

**Mateka: **Prisoner**  
**

**Siri: **Secret**  
**

**[Canon Character Names]  
**

**Kopa: **Heart**  
**

**Afua: **Forgiveness**  
**


	3. A Long Way to Go

**[Author's Note]**

**Well, I see everyone was extremely upset about the events of the last chapter. Not that I'm surprised. Thanks very much to everyone who shared your thoughts, I certainly didn't expect to get 21 reviews already. Normally I would ask that you make your comments a bit more constructive, but I suppose it's alright to freak out over Tumaini's death for the time being. I can tell that you're all dying to know what Kopa's going to do now, though it seems he's lost the will to keep going on. But I hope you don't mind if I shift the POV over to some of our other characters for the time being. I promise to return to Kopa by the end of this chapter, and there will be plenty of angst for everyone. In the meantime, let's see what a certain trio of young lions are up to right now...  
**

* * *

They were almost out of the Pridelands now.

Despite the fact that he had been trained all his life to have a great reserve of stamina to match his speed, Kovu's breath was beginning to catch in his throat. They had been running at top speed without pause ever since leaving Pride Rock, and normally the dash wouldn't have been a problem for him. But he had a lot to do in the last few days and hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep lately, and it was beginning to take its toll on him. He could feel the traces of exhaustion pulling him down even as he tried to maintain his speed.

Kovu wasn't too fussed over exactly which way they were going, since it was something he didn't even know. Right now, the goal was to head in roughly the right direction and get out of sight from Pride Rock, before they were spotted by the Pridelanders.

It wasn't a very good plan, and normally he would have objected to taking part in something so reckless. But he already knew the two lionesses with him well enough to guess that they would not want to slow down and try to be a bit more rational about what they were doing. After all, the three of them were trying to find Kopa, Simba's long-lost son and whom everyone had believed to have been killed by Zira long ago.

Kovu's sister Vitani was one of Kopa's closest friends when they were cubs. Kovu hadn't known him very well, but even back then he knew that she often ran off to see him. After his apparent death, she had kept the guilt to herself as she grew up, believing that it had been her fault. This became obvious to him after she and all the Outlanders returned to the Pridelands, and she was just beginning to move on from what Zira had done when she had overheard Kovu saying that Kopa was indeed alive. She had no idea where he was either, but it was clear that she would try to find him on nothing but hope and determination.

Kiara, Kovu's mate and Kopa's own sister, hadn't even known that she had an older brother until several days ago, when her parents told them what had become of him. Between her and Vitani, Kovu couldn't really say who was the more adamant on finding Kopa. But there certainly was a steely edge to Kiara's resolve, although the tension in her shoulders made it clear that she was more anxious and even desperate to find her long-lost brother. He attributed it to the recent loss of their cub, who had sustained damage when Kiara fell through a fissure during an earthquake. Despite her unyielding refusal to give up on its life even to end her own suffering, it later died before it was even born. She had been very depressed ever since then, but when he told her about Kopa, she had practically begged him to help her find her brother. He didn't have the heart to say no.

And so, against his better judgement, here they were, running aimlessly and looking for a lion that could be almost anywhere in the Serengeti or outside it. They were well beyond the boundaries of the Pridelands now, and although they still had no real sense of destination, Kiara and Vitani showed no signs of slowing down, either because they were ignoring any fatigue they felt, or were actually running on tenacity alone. But Kovu was flagging as he felt his breath coming up short now. "We need to..." he gasped, trying to get the words out with difficulty. "...we need to take a break."

"We should get a bit farther," said Vitani shortly, not sounding at all tired.

"Tani, please," Kovu insisted, slowing down. He collapsed right to the ground, his chest heaving. She looked over her shoulder at him and faltered, stopping reluctantly. Kiara, however, kept running. "Kiara," he called, trying to speak louder but couldn't. He tried again. "Kiara..." He stared after her but she kept going.

"I'll get her," said Vitani, breaking into a run again. "Wait here." She broke into a dash, easily overtaking Kiara in seconds and positioning herself in front of her. Kovu watched as his mate wordlessly tried to move around her, but kept getting blocked at every attempt. Despite the seriousness of the situation and his exhaustion, Kovu couldn't help but smile. The way Vitani kept darting in front of her reminded him of when Kiara did the same thing the day he had first met her as a cub.

Vitani was speaking now, although he couldn't make out her words. Kiara looked away, as if she didn't want to listen. But the former Outlander kept trying with a steady patience; Kiara's shoulders slumped and she turned to look at her with a slow sigh. She said something in response, and Vitani nodded slowly. She gave her brother a subtle jerk of the head, motioning for him to come over.

Having regained his breath, Kovu stood up and walked over to them. It was times like these that he admired his older sister's cool-headed nature, which he hadn't seen very much of in the Outlands; in fact, he was surprised that she could be so collected at times and yet so feisty at other times. _I've never seen Kiara like this before,_ he thought, worried. _Even I couldn't reason with her, and she's always been willing to listen to me..._ He slowly approached the two lionesses, and gave Vitani a small nod of thanks before turning to Kiara. "Hey..."

"Hey," she murmured, staring fixedly at the ground.

"We'll keep going in a few minutes, okay?" he said gently. "We have plenty of time—"

"Kovu, where are we going?" Kiara raised her head so she was staring directly at him. Her brown-red eyes, usually so full of life, were dull with discouragement. "We're just running aimlessly."

"Well, yes," he stammered. "But we couldn't just not go. At least this way, we have a chance of finding your brother."

She flopped down onto the ground, staring at her paws. "I didn't want to stop because I didn't want to think about what would happen if we didn't find him. But I knew this was stupid. Maybe we should go back..."

"No," said Kovu, surprised at his own determination. Or maybe it was because he just hated to see Kiara like this. "I promised I'd help you find Kopa, and that's what I'm going to do. We...we're bound to find some trace of him with all the lions on the move outside the Pridelands."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," she said miserably, as if she hadn't heard him. "I know you're really tired, running the pride and watching me these last few days. If we turn around now—"

"Kiara, look at me," he said with a firm nudge on her shoulder. She slowly looked up to meet her eyes with his again. "We're not turning around. We're going to find Kopa, and—and we're going to come back with him. But we can't wear ourselves out doing it, alright? If there's danger, if we have to run, we have to make sure we have the energy for it. We have to stop to rest sometimes."

"You're right," she murmured. "I'm sorry..."

"Hey, don't be. I'm with you on this, you know that."

Vitani stepped forward. "Kovu, can I have a word with you?"

He nodded, giving Kiara an affectionate nuzzle before following his sister. She led him far enough so that they were out of earshot before stopping.

Vitani turned around. "I need to know what's going on with her."

"She wants to find Kopa—"

"So do I, but I know what my limits are. And so does Kiara, usually." She lowered her voice even though they were far enough from Kiara not to be overheard. "Up until this morning, she was hardly able to move around. And now she can run just fine, but she's being really—I don't know, _careless_. So tell me, what happened?"

Kovu hesitated. She didn't miss the look.

"I'm your sister, Kovu. You can trust me. And if there's something going on with Kiara, it's best I know before it becomes a problem."

"She..." he trailed off, but decided just to say it. "She was pregnant. But she lost the cub, because she was injured in the earthquake. That's why she's like this."

Vitani's expectant expression softened immediately. "Sorry to hear that. Are you going to be alright?"

He nodded. "It's Kiara I'm worried about."

"I'll keep an eye on her," she said. "It's always harder on the expecting mother. I remember when we were in the Outlands..."

Kovu shuddered. Kiara had never been exposed to the hardships he and Vitani had been through, something for which he was glad of. But with the loss of her cub, it looked like she had some emotional scars of her own to bear now. "Tani...I don't like to say this, but...I don't have too much hope on finding Kopa. But as long as you and Kiara keep looking, I'm going to keep looking. It's just..."

"What?" she asked.

"We should find Simba and the others," he said. "Right now I don't think he even knows Kopa's alive. Or if he does, he might have heard something, or talked to someone that knows where he is. We'll at least have some sort of plan if we find Kopa. And...I should tell Simba about Kiara. He didn't know she was carrying before he left." He looked down.

"Alright," Vitani said. "So how are we going to find Simba?"

Kovu sighed. "I don't know. We'll have to hope the Great Kings will guide us, as he always used to say."

※※※

_Everything was cold. So cold. He could feel it immersing him, thrusting him to and fro, subduing him to its relentless will. He couldn't see, and he didn't know if he couldn't open his eyes or if the darkness was just so overwhelming. He couldn't even open his mouth to scream because the unseen force was pressing him in so powerfully._

_He didn't know where he was, or what was happening to him. He couldn't even remember what was and was not before he ended up in this state of bitter torment. Surely he wasn't meant to exist like this, subject to nothing but terror and confusion? What had he done to deserve this?_

_He wanted to do something, anything to escape this—even if it meant surrendering to death—but as if the unspeaking force was capable of cruelty, it would not release him from its clutches and send him into that blissful state. He didn't know what else to do but wait, just _be_, resist the torment with what little strength he had left even though he knew there was no point to it._

_Then at last, the all-consuming sensation gave way to the deafening sound of rushing water, and he was frantically gasping for air even before he realized his head had surfaced above the river. It was an instinct, as were his efforts to tread water even as the rapid current threatened to suck him under again. He fought it with a renewed burst of energy even though he was drenched and exhausted. He was still scared, but now there was a chance—_

_Just as his sense of up and down returned to him, the numbing sensation that the cold water enclosed him in faded and gave way to a sharp lance of pain that shot through his skull, followed by a painful, persistent throbbing. He gasped with pain as an image took form inside his mind. He was falling, from where he didn't know, and then he was in the water. He had tried to fight it but was sucked under—and then something had hit his head, and everything after that became black._

_The memory lasted only for a moment, but it was enough to make him falter. He felt something snag onto his footpaw, and before he could even cry out, he was pulled under the water once more._

※※※

_Kopa didn't know how long it was before he regained consciousness. But when he opened his eyes, everything was quiet. Not only was he lying completely still, but he was dry, and even comfortable._

_He blinked, looking around more carefully at his surroundings. He was lying beneath a cluster of trees, staring up through a canopy of leaves through which gentle shafts of sunlight were peeking down at him. A gentle wind ruffled his fur, rustling the leaves and causing the bed of grass he was lying on to tickle him gently. There was no sound save for the ambient chirping of birds around him._

_There was a gold-furred lion sitting nearby, facing off to the side. His head was hanging downward, and he was nodding gently with his eyes closed, his half-grown black mane partially covering his face in his slouched stance. He didn't look quite old enough to be an adult, more likely an adolescent._

_It was an effort for Kopa to try and get up from his prone position, and he gave a small grunt as he realized he didn't have the energy to move very much. Hearing him, the adolescent jerked and opened his eyes, blinking blearily. He looked rather tired as he hurried over. "Hey, you're awake, little guy. Are you alright?"_

_It was startling to be spoken to so directly by a stranger, but the tone was gentle. Kopa nodded, a bit apprehensive at being so close to him._

_The lion clearly noticed his nervousness. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax, you were roughed up pretty badly." _

_It was then that Kopa was aware of a foul taste in his mouth. There was also a very small throbbing in the back of his head, although it was barely noticeable now. The various bruises and cuts all over his body were also mostly healed now. He felt a bit stiff in his attempts to move, but otherwise he felt far better than he expected._

"_It's been five days since I pulled you out of the river," the adolescent said. "You haven't woken up since, but I've treated your injuries." He paused, and asked uncertainly, "Are...are you hungry?"_

_He nodded weakly, but what was really bugging him was how dry and sore his throat was. "Water," he rasped. The adolescent nodded and ran past him, where there was the faint sound of trickling not far off. He soon returned with a large leaf, its tips clenched in his teeth. He took it in his paw and carefully passed the leaf to him._

_The water was clean and refreshingly cool, and Kopa didn't even breathe until he drank every last drop off the leaf. He could feel his energy return as the water revitalized his worn-out body. Just as he dropped the leaf, he picked up the scent of a fresh kill, and felt his stomach growl as the adolescent lion dragged half a zebra over. "Here, it's all yours. You haven't eaten in days."_

_Kopa needed no persuading. The stranger stood back as he began devouring the kill ravenously, he was splattering blood on his muzzle and fur but he didn't care. What was left of the zebra held a whole lot of meat, but he stripped it clean faster than he could ever remember eating, and when he was done, there was nothing left of the zebra but its bones. He lay back, panting. He had never eaten so much at once before, not that he could recall the last time he had a meal at all. He felt as if he was going to burst, but it was a good feeling._

_The adolescent stepped towards him. "Sorry, I don't think I've introduced myself. My name is Tumaini."_

"_I'm..." he faltered, trying to remember his name. "...I'm Kopa." He frowning as he just realized that he was having trouble remembering things. Not just his name, but everything else felt so hazy._

"_Nice to meet you, Kopa." Tumaini sounded friendly enough, but there was an edginess to his voice. Something in his expression made him look...wary, tentative. Nonetheless, there was genuine concern in his eyes. "Do you feel any pain? Any discomfort?"_

"_No," Kopa said. "I feel just fine...thanks."_

"_That's good." There was an awkward pause; he couldn't help but feel that Tumaini seemed uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't explain. "Well, I should get you back to...wherever you're from." Tumaini stared off into the trees towards the sound of the water. "You'll have to point me in the right direction though."_

_Kopa closed his eyes, trying hard to remember something, anything, from before. But all that entered his mind were the roar of the river's torrents, his frantic efforts to reach air, nothing else. "I...don't know."_

"_You don't know?"_

"_Can't remember," Kopa muttered. "I just can't..." He looked around, suddenly panic-stricken. "What am I going to do? I don't know where I am!"_

"_Just...just relax, Kopa," Tumaini said softly, trying in mind to put his mind at ease. "I'll help you work it out—"_

"_How?" he demanded, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill. "What am I supposed to do?" Suddenly he flung himself at Tumaini, burying his face in his mane. The older lion was startled but didn't pull away, placing his paws reassuringly around Kopa's shoulders. He wanted to say something, but didn't know what, and only felt awkward standing there, trying to soothe the cub._

_Kopa looked up, his face now tear-streaked and miserable. "Can I...can I stay with you?" he sniffed._

"_Stay with me?" the adolescent repeated hesitantly._

"_Please," he begged. "I'm scared of being out here on my own, and—and I don't know where else to go..."_

_Kopa was clearly terrified, and Tumaini felt sorry for him. He could always bring him back to the place where he first found him, but there were hyenas roaming there now, and he didn't want to put the kid in danger. Besides, he reminded him an awful lot of—_

Stop it! You're not going to think about this! _Tumaini had told himself that he didn't trust himself enough, but he didn't know what else he could do. _I can't just leave him on his own. But would staying with me put him in even more danger? _He didn't know what do think; wracked with indecision, he tried to find reason in his conflicted mind. _I'll be careful. I won't do anything stupid, or—or dangerous— _But did he really believe that himself?_

_Tumaini sighed. _I guess time will tell. _Trying to keep his expression resolute, he replied, "Alright, Kopa. You can stay with me. At least until you remember everything. I'm sure it'll all come back to you in time..."_

※※※

But it didn't. Sometimes there would be the occasional dream that flitted in and out of Kopa's mind on some restless nights, but he would be unable to decipher them because they were so unclear. He had recovered no recollections of his life as the years went by, and living with Tumaini eventually _became_ his life. He hadn't minded it at all. He had no burning desire to figure out his past, and not because of his terrifying experience in the river either. Tumaini just had a way of always making him feel whole, that he never wanted anything else but to live out his days with him. It wasn't until that day when Siri had appeared, terrified and exhausted, that everything changed, and she unwittingly set him back on course to rediscover who he used to be...

_I don't care anymore. I wish none of this ever happened. I want things to go back to the way they were. I can't take this...I can't..._

All his dishevelled emotions gave way to anguish as Kopa felt the tears come at last. He cried uncontrollably, feeling as if he was being ripped away from every happy emotion he had ever felt—every breath of life Tumaini had given him from the day he had pulled him out of that river—and it hurt. Each fresh flow of tears only brought on more torment, every memory of the past reminded him of what was destroyed and could never be brought back, and each gasp of breath became bitter as if he wanted to reject the very air from keeping him alive. Kopa couldn't look at Tumaini's body, because looking at it would mean he was accepting that his greatest friend was gone, that he was going to let go. He couldn't let go. _Don't leave me...I want to stay with you...I'm scared—I don't want to be alone, and—and—_

Kopa looked up as he heard the sound of stone scraping against stone. The boulder that blocked off the exit to the den was moving, and as it began rolling to the side he realized that someone was opening the hole. What was it now? Had Janga decided to kill him as well?

He felt a savage fearlessness seize him as he unsheathed his claws and stood up, his stance poised to lunge. _Let her come, let her come and do what she will. I'll fight tooth and claw, I'll tear the skin and blood from her body, I'll hurt every bit of her I can reach until she kills me. Wait for me, Tumaini...I won't be long now..._ He tensed as the boulder rolled aside—and into the den stepped Fujo.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**He's back! What could Fujo possibly want with Kopa? The answer lies in the next chapter, so stay tuned! (By the way, I hope this has been a good start to the story so far. I would be very disappointed if I didn't have at least some of you overcome with anticipation.)  
**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]  
**

**Kovu:** Scar**  
**

**Zira:** Hate**  
**

**Vitani:** Demon of war (or "ducks", apparently, if you've read _The Lion King IV: The Rogue Pride_)**  
**

**Kiara: **Clarity (Latin)


	4. The Virulent Pact

Kopa was so startled by the sight of the lion standing before him that every dark emotion coursing through him froze abruptly, replaced by sheer disbelief. He didn't know how to react or what to do. _What is this_—

Fujo bound forward in a flash and pinned Kopa firmly to the floor. "Keep quiet," he murmured. "And don't ask questions."

"What are you doing here?" Kopa hissed. He tried to struggle free but couldn't; his paws were held fast at an angle where he couldn't reach any part of Fujo.

"I just told you not to ask questions. Now I'm going to let you up, and you're going to come with me."

"If you let me up, I'm going to kill you," the younger lion growled. Fujo paused.

"What's happened to you?" he asked. "I realize you're not pleased with me and I presume being captured is hardly pleasant, but—" He broke off, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. He looked off to the side, where Tumaini's body lay. "Is he..."

"Yeah. No thanks to you." Kopa snarled. Fujo's eyes returned to his, now with a hardness to it.

"I had nothing to do with any of this. In fact, I had just received word from Janga's lions that you and Tumaini were captured, and I'm trying to get you out of here. I wanted to get you _both_ out of here."

Kopa gave a bitter scoff and averted his gaze.

"I'm not lying. Janga's become far too dangerous for my liking. If she overpowers Simba and my brother, things could turn very bad in the Pridelands. So I've decided to stop her."

"I don't believe you."

Fujo sighed. "Janga was never my ally, you know that. I intended to get rid of her from the start. I realize some of my actions have been atrocious, Kopa, and I intend to answer for them in due time. But right now I'm focusing my efforts on stopping her from annihilating the two prides, and what happens to me isn't what's important. I've just blown my own cover to get you out, so are you going to trust me, or are you going to let my efforts go to waste?"

Kopa contemplated this for a moment, trying to figure out just how sincere Fujo was. Knowing him, this could be a diabolical plan for some complex end motive he couldn't figure out. But now that he had a chance to escape Mount Tempest, he didn't know whether or not to take it. He gritted his teeth. "I won't trust you. I'll never trust you."

"That's fair enough, I suppose." Fujo's gaze turned to Tumaini's unmoving form again. "Who did it? Janga?"

Kopa nodded, grimacing.

"Then what say you to a little payback?"

_Payback?_ All his life, he had never wanted or needed to spite anyone because no one had ever done wrong to him. He had always thought of revenge as something poisonous and self-damaging. But now that his lifelong friend was dead, killed out of misdirected hate, and he knew that Tumaini really _shouldn't_ be dead, he could feel a fiery wrath burning inside him. It was strong enough to drown out his anguish until he almost couldn't feel it, and it was telling him to go and strike back, to set Janga ablaze with that same pain until she couldn't put it out. The prospect of it was intoxicating, and he didn't try to pull away from the temptation. "Count me in," he said.

Fujo gave his familiar shrewd smile and stepped back, releasing him. Kopa got to his paws and gave him a hard glare. "But if you try to deceive me, you're going to be sorry. I don't care if you kill me, I'll take a bit of you with me if I have to."

The older lion took note of the newfound darkness in Kopa's eyes but only said, "We have to escape this place first, without being pursued by Janga's lions."

"Don't you know a secret passage close by?"

"I showed them to Janga," Fujo said simply. Kopa bristled. "Oh, she doesn't know about all of them. Just enough to convince her to trust me."

_Trust you? I doubt it._

Fujo silently strode over to the wall next to the exit and scratched at it carefully. Kopa winced at the ear-piercing sound of claws scraping against rock. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving my regards, in a manner of speaking." The black-maned lion stepped back, revealing what looked like a rough lightning bolt shape carved into the rock face. "Come on, we should leave now."

Kopa stared at the carving for a moment, wondering exactly what it was for. He gave a growl of irritation but followed Fujo out of the den. _He never does anything without a reason. I always feel like he's up to something._ He would have to stay sharp around him, but constantly keeping his focus like this was already wearing away at him. _Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?_

※※※

After what seemed like hours, Zazu finally flew over the top of the hills, with five lionesses following closely behind. Simba watched them briefly as they approached before turning away to count the other lions that were amassed from the two prides.

This was the last of the teams of Pridelanders sent out to find Janga, and he was impatient to get going now that they were finally regrouped. It had taken all day to locate every lion in the Serengeti from both prides, and the ones that weren't too badly injured were told to regroup here; the wounded were led back to Pride Rock by Sarafina. Still, Zazu was only one hornbill; the two prides had to pick up on the closest teams' trails and find them the hard way, and by now the entire group was somewhat tired. _We've still got a long way to go. Mount Tempest is all the way on the other side of the mountain pass._

Malka, the king of the Tempest pride, was pacing to and fro at the edge of the group, looking just as anxious as Simba felt. Nala was next to him, conversing with him quietly. Malka's son, Afua, was lying down not far off, his head resting on his paws and his eyes fixed on the storm clouds rolling in over the mountain range. Siri, Malka's adopted daughter, was silently watching him, as if studying his features closely.

Simba's attention was returned to Zazu as the majordomo landed breathlessly before him. "They were quite a ways from the mountain range, sire. But I do believe that's everyone."

The king nodded. "Well done, Zazu. We're going to rest before we head for Mount Tempest. You should too."

"Thank you, sire." The hornbill lit rather clumsily and flew over to a nearby rock to perch.

Simba sighed. Although he would have liked nothing more than to run through the pass and get to Mount Tempest with best speed, he knew that it would be rash to make such a long trip without giving everyone the opportunity to recover their energy. He made a quick count of how many lions they had. _Fifty-three. We should have more than enough to take on Janga's forces, assuming she hasn't called her teams back yet._ Still, catching their breath now meant that they would sustain fewer casualties in the fight to come.

He turned to face the mountains for what seemed like the hundredth time now. _Wait for me, Kopa. I'm coming, do you hear?_ He turned his eyes to the darkening sky, wondering if the Great Kings were watching. _Father...please keep him safe until I find him._

Nala walked over to him with Malka, both looking a bit preoccupied. The black-maned king gave him a strained smile. "Don't worry, Simba. No harm will come to Kopa as long as my son is with him."

"They'll both be fine," said Nala.

Simba averted his gaze from the sky to meet Malka's eyes. "She's right, Malka. And we're indebted to you for our son's life."

Malka shook his head. "You've watched over mine, old friend. And it's not me you should thank for Kopa."

"You've given him a safe place to stay where Janga couldn't find him," said Nala. "And you offered him a home when he couldn't remember where he was from."

"You both would have done the same in my place," Malka replied modestly. He gave a heavy sigh and he lowered his voice. "Nala told me about Sarabi. I'm sorry, Simba."

Simba nodded, the pain of losing his mother still raw in his heart. He wished that she at least had the chance to see her grandson again before she died. _I won't lose him too. I can't._

_It's my home you want, Janga. So you'd better settle this with me. You'd better not lay a paw on him._

※※※

Kopa felt increasingly uneasy as Fujo led him further into Mount Tempest. Things hadn't gone so well the last time he crept through the massive network of tunnels like this, and this time he was with one of the lions he now trusted the least. And of course, there was the ever-constant feeling that he was being manipulated somehow by agreeing to go with Fujo. He didn't even know what that plan was after they got out of here, assuming that this wasn't all a trick.

Fujo continued to lead him through the tunnels with a calmness that was beginning to irritate Kopa. The black-maned lion looked as if he were casually strolling through Mount Tempest without a single worry. He acted exactly as he did before Kopa had found out that he was a traitor, and just seeing him so unfazed made Kopa want to hurt him. _He killed my grandmother in front of me. He's lied to everyone who ever trusted him and now he can just pass it off like he hasn't done anything wrong._

Kopa clenched his jaw. _I'll make him answer for it, if no one else does. One day, I will..._ He took several deep breaths, trying to keep his temper in check. Forcing his voice to remain level, he asked, "Shouldn't we move a bit faster? Janga has guards everywhere."

They reached another chamber at the end of the chamber. Fujo peered carefully into the chamber before stepping out of the tunnel. "Not true, Kopa." He quickly pulled the younger lion out of the line of sight from the other end of the tunnel. A few seconds later, a pair of lions passed through the opposite chamber and disappeared into a perpendicular tunnel. "I've accounted for only seventeen lions present here. And faster isn't always better." He led Kopa back into the tunnel and through another one leading in the opposite direction of the patrol. "I've been here long enough to observe how many guards Janga keeps around and where they would be at any given time." As they reached yet another chamber, Fujo paused, his eyes flicking to and fro and looking deep in thought. "What I'm actually doing is making sure we move at a careful speed so we can avoid every single one of them." He pulled Kopa into a dark crevice and silently slipped in as well. Hardly a minute later, another patrol passed right by their position and entered the tunnel. Fujo stepped out of their hiding place and led Kopa through the tunnel the patrol had just come from, entering a smaller downward tunnel that branched from the main one.

"That should be the last of them," the older lion said. "The passage is in the mountain's lower levels. Janga hasn't sent her patrols down there."

_Always a step ahead of everyone else,_ Kopa thought. _And he knows his way in and out of Mount Tempest far better than Janga does._ There was a noticeable chill in the air now as they headed underground, and the silence itself felt stifling. As he continued to follow Fujo through the winding passages, he began to realize just how confusing the geography of Mount Tempest was. _Even if I escaped on my own, I'd never have been able to find my way out of here._

They finally came out of the long tunnel and into a small chamber that was dimly lit by only a single pit of burnt out wood, glowing faintly in embers. Fujo stopped when he saw the dark gaping hole adjacent to the tunnel. "It's been opened...very recently too."

Despite Kopa's distrust of his cunning escort, he realized that he did not like the tone of surprise in Fujo's voice. He froze. "That scent...there's someone close by..."

Both lions stiffened as Kivuli stepped noiselessly out of the dark tunnel, her dark grey fur blending in almost perfectly with the shadows. Kopa unsheathed his claws and was about to move when he heard another voice behind them.

"I have to say, I was very surprised when Kivuli informed me that my other prisoners escaped through a hidden passage I didn't know existed," said Janga, stepping into view from the tunnel they had just walked through. "And here I found another one just now. For someone as perceptive as you, Fujo, I didn't think you would be so negligent that you would only show me _some_ of these passages."

"Hello, Janga," said Fujo calmly, stepping away from her but still keeping Kivuli in his line of vision. "How did you know I was coming this way?"

"That's just it, I didn't. I decided to find these passages myself since I didn't want my only prisoner to slip away the way the others did. It's a good thing I came across this passage here, another one you kept secret from me. And a good thing you chose to come this way. Now I know for sure that I can't trust you."

Kivuli was the first to move. She bound straight for Kopa, who turned towards her and began to move, but wasn't quick enough to avoid getting knocked down to the stone floor. Fujo's eyes shifted away from Janga, and a split second later she lunged at him.

Kopa winced as the back of his head hit the floor. His vision was swimming but he could still see Kivuli standing over him, keeping his front paws pinned and baring her teeth. He kicked her in the hind leg, knocking her off balance. He managed to free his right forepaw and slashed at her face. But she caught onto his wrist, unsheathing her claws and digging them into his foreleg. He tried to pull away, rolling over so that she was the one on the ground.

Her back paw caught him hard in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to pitch over her and slide across the floor on his stomach. He grunted and fought to regain his breath, rolling aside as she scrambled to her paws and assumed an offensive stance.

Fujo was fending off Janga on the other side of the chamber, the black-maned lion clawing and biting at his opponent with an uncharacteristic ferocity. But she was clearly an even match for him, giving as much as she got and holding her ground without falter. Kopa was actually pondering whether he should help him when Kivuli dove at him again, but this time he was ready.

He ducked as she flew over his head, avoiding her extended claws and grabbing her back paws. He was about to sink his teeth into her belly when he felt her claws on his back, holding him in a position where he couldn't bite her. He snapped at her to no avail, wincing as he felt her claws digging into him. He stabbed his own claws into her hind legs, staggering under her weight as she thrashed and tried to kick him in the face. He spun around, trying to get her to let go, and by pure luck, whipped her in the eye with his tail. She gave a cry of surprise and pain, unwittingly loosening her grip on him. Still gripping her by the legs, he kept turning, throwing her off him with every bit of strength he had.

Fujo, whose claws were locked with Janga's, unexpectedly pulled away just in time for Kivuli to collide into her and send both lionesses down in a heap. "Kopa, get to the tunnel! I'll collapse it behind us!"

_No,_ thought Kopa dashing towards them with a savage fervor. _Now's my chance, I'm going to make her pay—_

What happened next occurred so quickly that he didn't even have time to react. He felt a paw grab him firmly by the shoulder and yank him backwards. A heartbeat later, Janga was suddenly standing again, making a vicious swipe at Fujo, who had placed himself in front of Kopa. Her claws raked the black-maned lion across the flank, causing him to stagger. Kopa stumbled from the force of being pulled back, but he quickly regained his balance by digging his paws against the floor. Without even thinking, he leaped over Fujo's hunched form and slashed his paw down Janga's face.

One of his claws pierced her just above the brow, and he felt it slice through her flesh and down the left side of her face. She pulled away with a roar just as it reached her cheek, sending flecks of blood flying from the wound. With a grunt, Fujo leaped up and rammed her away with his shoulder. "Kopa, get going! Don't be stupid!"

Kopa obeyed this time. He could hear the sound of rapid pawsteps echoing through the other tunnel and knew he'd be captured again if they didn't leave now. They ran into the passage, and Fujo grasped one of many rocks placed into the tunnel wall and pulled it out. A rumbling filled the passage as the other rocks began to fall out of place and fill up the exit.

Janga had recovered and was dashing towards them, with Kivuli close behind, heedless of the cataclysm of rocks that prevented her from reaching them. Fujo flung the rock he was holding at her. She ducked, and it caught Kivuli in the face instead, causing her to fall with a cry of pain. Janga stared at them with a festering hate, blood dripping down the horrific scar over her left eye. "I will find you both," she snarled. "So you'd better run while you still can. You'd better run fast."

And then she was cut off from their line of vision as the rocks blocked off the entrance completely. Silence fell over the passageway which became engulfed in darkness without the firelight from the chamber.

Fujo turned away from the rubble. "We should put some distance between ourselves and Mount Tempest. She'll be sending her lions after us."

Kopa kept his glare fixed on the rocks for a moment longer before turning away and following him down the long tunnel. _No, Janga. I'm not going to run forever. And when I'm ready, I'll be the one to find you._

※※※

Janga hurried over to Kivuli, who held one paw over the bruise on her cheek inflicted by Fujo's rock. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Janga," the grey-furred lioness said. She looked up at her friend's face and gasped when she saw the scar.

"Don't," Janga said, her voice hardening. "It's an injury, nothing more. It means nothing to me. Now let's go, I'm going to go after them myself if I have to—"

"Janga!" a pair of lions rushed out the tunnel and into the chamber, looking very flustered. "We're under attack! We have to get out of here, there's too many of them!"

"What?" she said. "Too many? Who's attacking us?"

"It's Malka's pride, they've come back for us!" a second lion said frantically. "And...and he's brought..." His voice lowered as if hardly daring to say the name. "...Simba."

Janga brought one paw down firmly to the stone floor. "So he's decided to come to me."

"Janga, don't do this," Kivuli warned. "There aren't enough of us. We can't defeat all of them."

"I'm not after all of them," she replied calmly. "Rally everyone we have, Kivuli. Tell them to be ready to leave if necessary—but first I'm going after Simba."

"Janga—"

"That's _final._" Without waiting for a response, Janga dashed into the tunnel as fast as she could, her mind racing as quickly as she was running for the surface.

_Looks like Simba's bought you a little time, Kopa. But in the end, that won't stop me at all from killing you both._

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**Yeah, Simba's going to miss Kopa by literally minutes. And you thought I couldn't postpone the reunion any longer. But come on, this setting is hardly fitting for a proper reunion. Don't worry though, it's a bridge that'll be crossed when the time comes. In the meantime, let's all admire Janga's new scar! How many of you felt good about it when Kopa clawed her in the face? Can I get a show of hands?  
**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]**

******Sarafina:** Fiery (Latin)


	5. Fight or Flight

The rain was coming down heavily over the mountains. The thunder boomed across the sky as if the heavens embodied the reckoning that had come to Mount Tempest. The downpour was so thick that it was hard to see very far, but it was clear that Janga's pride was losing the fight.

Afua stood back to back with Siri and Mateka, fighting the lions that were trying to get at them. But for every enemy lion present, there were three to fend them off. More of Janga's lions were dashing out of Mount Tempest, although there weren't nearly enough of them to make a lasting fight.

He felt a rush of adrenaline as he intercepted a lion from pouncing on Mateka. Here he was, home for the very first time since he was a cub, helping take it back from Janga. His opponent was knocked away and tried to run, when Mateka leaped on him.

Siri was grappling with another lioness, and Afua quickly moved to help her. The lioness was about to make a swipe at Siri when he sank his teeth into the enemy lioness' foreleg. Mateka quickly moved in and clawed her under the chin. He let go as Siri tripped her opponent and pinned her down.

Every lion froze as an almighty roar echoed through the mountains. "_SIMBA!_"

And then Simba turned, and he saw her.

A dark-brown lioness was standing at the main entrance of Mount Tempest, her orange eyes blazing with fury. He didn't need to see the scar over her left eye to know who she was. "Janga," he hissed.

The two lions dashed straight at each other, completely oblivious to everything else that was happening around them. As if by some unspoken order, every one of Janga's lions broke off and formed a tight two-ring circle around them, cutting them off from the others. Malka and Nala rallied their lions in response and were charging on them, but every single one of the enemy lions were facing outward, maintaining a solid and almost impenetrable defence.

Simba got in the first hit, kicking at Janga's forelegs and causing her to lose her footing on the rain-drenched rock. His paw caught her in the face, snapping her head back. But she countered unexpectedly by headbutting him, causing him to stumble back, blood flowing from his snout. Unfazed, Simba snarled and lashed out with one foreleg, landing a hard hit on her torso. She flipped onto her back and fell hard on the ground. He pounced at her downed form, but she came up fast, raking her claws down the side of his neck. He cried out as blood gushed from the wounds, and she kicked him in the stomach before leaping back up and making a lunge at him.

He collided hard with one of Janga's lions but he rolled out of the way, causing her to land on her own follower. Simba swiped at her, knocking her away again with a hard blow. He moved forward to follow up on his attack, but winced as the gashes on his neck opened, dripping blood down his soaked fur. By then Janga was already charging at him, and he raised one paw to deflect her. She ducked his feeble swipe and bit down hard on his foreleg, causing him to cry out in pain. She shoved him hard with both paws, forcing him onto his back and standing over him with a murderous gleam in her eyes.

"Simba!" Nala cried. She batted aside one lion, but was blocked by three more, trying to get to her mate. Malka snapped one of the lions' necks with his jaws, threw the body into another, and clawed at the ones that moved to take their place. Janga's lions had taken several casualties, and their circle was smaller now, but the inner ring was proving to be even more resilient than the outer one.

Afua dashed forward, leaping onto his father's shoulders and jumping over both lines of enemy lions. He fell rather gracelessly but managed to slam right into Janga before she was able to kill Simba. She went flying through the formation just as Nala and Malka fought their way through the inner ring, causing the enemy lions to scatter as their defensive circle was broken.

Janga got to her paws, staring down at the two prides that now stood between her and Mount Tempest. Nala and several lionesses moved to protect Simba as he stood back up with a wince. More than fifty lions stared down the scarred lioness and her remaining followers, who were now standing in a line with their backs to the open ground. Simba could almost feel the hatred emanating from her being just from the way she was staring him down. He braced, ready to give the order to finish her—

"Retreat!" she roared, turning tail and sprinting into the open grasslands beyond the mountains. Her nine surviving lions followed without hesitation and quickly disappeared into the thick canopy of rain.

Simba noticed a few of the Pridelanders moving to give chase, but he said, "Hold it. She's decided not to waste the lives of her pride, and I'll do the same."

Afua looked like he was going to protest, but Malka gave his son a firm look before saying to everyone, "We won't be able to catch up to them. I've seen how fast all of her lions are. And the rest of her followers are still in the grasslands somewhere; it would be rash to chase her."

Simba nodded in agreement. "We'll track her when we're good and ready. Make no mistake, we will find her. But first, there's someone I need to see in Mount Tempest."

"I'll take you there," said Malka. He turned to address his pride. "We have our home back again, Tempest Pride. This time we must safeguard it properly. Afua, come with me. It's time you got reacquainted with your brother."

"I'm coming too," said Siri. Mateka moved to join them as well. As the two prides settled into the area around Mount Tempest, Malka led Simba, Nala, Afua, Siri, and Mateka inside the main entrance, shaking the rain out of their fur.

Nala was looking at the wounds on Simba's face and neck in concern. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. Right now he was impatient to find Kopa and wasn't particularly concerned about anything else.

The sound of the rain gradually faded away as the lions headed deeper into Mount Tempest in silence. It was somewhat stifling, walking through a mostly solid mountain, being cut off so completely from sunlight or sky. If Simba hadn't known that this was where Malka's pride lived, he wouldn't have willingly set foot inside. It was a bit unnerving to see such a massive network of tunnels be so unoccupied.

"Janga's kept the fires burning," Malka noted, breaking the silence. He was looking at the pits that lined the tunnel and were filled with fresh branches and chunks of wood. "They must've known that the rain was coming."

"So your pride dug the entire mountain out?" Nala asked curiously. The black-maned pride king nodded.

"It took many generations to dig out the entire mountain, but my pride was intent on it. I remember running off one time as a cub because I didn't want to help move the broken rocks away from the mountain." He grinned at Simba. "That was when I ended up in the Pridelands."

"This is amazing," Simba admitted, looking around as they exited a tunnel and entered a chamber. "It all looks so carefully designed."

"We have a network of water tunnels too," said Siri. "We have a massive basin dug into the top of the mountain, and it gathers a lot of rain over time. It flows very slowly from the top of the mountain to the bottom through dozens of small pits and trenches, some of them connecting to important locations in the mountain. Kopa actually used one of them to help break out the prisoners—"

She broke off, and the others stopped as well, looking at her in concern. "Blood," she said quietly. "It's dry, but very recent."

Simba, whose injuries created a strong enough scent of blood to mask anything else he could smell, asked, "Where?"

"In the next chamber, where we were going to be imprisoned," she said. "There are a few scents too, but they're very faint..."

Simba had a very bad feeling about what he was about to find, but broke into a run, dashing down the tunnel with the others in tow. Panic ran through his mind even though he knew it could be anything. _No...don't let it be Kopa...please be alright...I've come too close..._

He was the first to enter the next chamber, this one containing many massive boulders placed against the walls. His eyes were drawn immediately to the only den that wasn't blocked, and now he could smell the blood wafting from inside. With a heavy sense of apprehension, he stepped inside, hardly daring to look around at what he might find. It was completely empty, save for—

A single lion was lying on his back against the wall, his glazed eyes half-open. His throat was torn and bloody, and he was clearly dead. Worst of all, he felt as if he were staring at an older version of Afua. The lion didn't even look to be very old, and Simba was horrified at seeing the gruesome fate that had become of him.

"No," whispered a voice next to him. He turned slowly and saw Malka, who had entered as well and was slowly walking towards him, his face trembling and his brow tight with anguish. Simba knew immediately who the dead lion was.

"I'm sorry, Malka," he whispered, feeling an unexpected sorrow towards this lion he had never met before. _He was the one that saved Kopa. Took him in unconditionally and asked for nothing in return. Did he die for him as well?_

"No!"

Simba turned to see Siri dash past him and fling herself onto the lion's unmoving body, clutching him as if she would never let go. Malka placed one paw around her but she took no heed of him, her face buried in her dead friend's mane and sobbing into his fur. Afua just stood behind them next to Nala and Mateka, staring into his brother's blank eyes in disbelief.

Malka closed his eyes, the tears now streaming down his weary face. "I should've...I...should've..." _I should've been faster. I should have kept you out of danger. I should have never let you go off on your own again. _Had it only been a few days ago that he had reconciled with Tumaini? Why did their time together have to be so short?

"He...told me...to go first..." choked Siri, wiping her eyes. "...s-said...he had to...make sure...I was safe..."

Simba looked from the two grieving lions to Afua, who was still standing just outside the exit. And despite the misgivings that were tugging at his mind, one thought emerged to the forefront of his thoughts out of everything. _You should be with them. That's your brother lying dead right there. Your own brother_—

"So where's Kopa?" Afua asked quietly. Malka looked up slowly.

"I don't know. Janga could have left him anywhere..."

"Simba and I can keep looking for him," said Nala, giving her mate a meaningful look and giving a small jerk of the head towards Tumaini's body. Simba quickly got the point and moved to leave with her.

"W...wait," said Siri, standing up slowly with a shuddering sigh. "You'll get lost if you wander off on your own...I'll help you find him."

"Me too," said Afua.

"No, Afua, you stay with your brother," said Simba, a little more sharply than he would have liked. The young lion bristled.

"My brother is gone," he said in a hard voice. "Didn't seem like he went very peacefully either. I don't want to look at him. But Kopa is my friend, and if there's still anything I can do—"

Malka held up a paw, his eyes fixed on a lightning-bolt marking carved into the wall. He inhaled deeply, letting it out in a shaky breath. "I thought I picked up his scent earlier, but I wasn't sure." He looked at Simba and Nala. "Kopa is alive. My brother Fujo has rescued him...very recently too."

"Are they still here?" Nala asked. Malka shook his head.

"Fujo would have taken him away from Mount Tempest if he didn't know we were coming."

"Where would he take him?" asked Mateka, speaking for the first time.

"My guess would be Mount Kilimanjaro," Siri mumbled. Simba nodded and moved to leave the den.

"Nala and I will get some of our pride and—"

"Simba, you can't go looking for him yet," pleaded Malka, standing shakily onto his paws. "I know you want to find him, but we need to start tracking Janga. Your son is out of danger for now, but if we follow his trail, we'll be leading her straight to our only safe hiding place."

"He's right, Simba," sighed Nala. "Come on, we'll put together some tracking teams."

Simba nodded reluctantly, slowly moving to leave with her and Mateka. He stopped next to the exit but stared at the floor, keeping his back turned to his old friend. "Malka, if you need to be alone, I'll watch both our prides for now. Take all the time you need."

"Thank you, Simba," said Malka quietly.

Simba and Nala made their way through the tunnels leading out of Mount Tempest, both with the same feelings of anxiety and resignation. Neither knew it about the other, but the same thought was in both their minds. _It wasn't Kopa she killed. I'm so glad it wasn't Kopa..._ It was a terrible, selfish thought, but one that any parent would have had in their place. Still, both of them felt guilty for thinking it, well aware of how much Malka had to be suffering right now.

The Pridelander king and queen were both so lost in thought that neither of them noticed Mateka moving more quickly than them through the tunnels, and was soon very far ahead of them. By the time they exited the mountain to organize the teams, she was nowhere in sight. Still, both of them assumed that she was somewhere else, and neither of them planned to assign her in one of the tracking teams anyway.

But if either Simba or Nala knew that Mateka had discreetly slipped off from Mount Tempest, they would have immediately sent someone to bring her back. But there were a lot of things to organize now that they held Mount Tempest that the inconspicuity of a single lioness was hardly worth thinking about. As it was, it would be a very long time before anyone noticed her disappearance.


	6. Respite

**[Author's Note]**

**After a rather hectic start to book 3, I think my characters deserve a bit of time to catch their breath. As the name suggests, this chapter will be more thought-based and will be the first opportunity for some of them to reflect on everything that's happened recently. And now we're at the halfway point of book 3, and the time sure went by fast. I only started posting the first chapter less than two weeks ago, but I really got a rousing show of support which sped up the updating rate, so I'd just like to thank you all for sharing your thoughts and feedback. I'm not sure when I'll be starting on book 4, since I'll be taking leave from university on the 19th to visit friends and family over the Christmas break, and I won't be back until the 5th of January. Don't worry though, I'll still be able to post chapters to book 3 on a regular basis, but as much as I enjoy writing this series, don't expect me to be pounding out the first draft of book 4 just yet. After all, I do have a lot to catch up on back home.  
**

* * *

It seemed like hours before the passage began to slope upward, and it wasn't long after that Fujo pushed aside a cluster of carefully arranged rocks to give way to a starry night sky. Kopa breathed in the fresh air deeply with no small sense of relief. There was a faint scent of moisture lingering in the air.

"The storm seems to have passed," Fujo observed, his eyes scanning the darkened grasslands.

"So now what?" Kopa asked, realizing for the first time how tired he was. _I haven't gotten any proper rest ever since I've left Shira Hollow...how long ago was that?  
_

"Now we get some rest. I'll wake you at sunrise."

Kopa wasn't so sure about this. Letting his guard down in Fujo's presence didn't sound like a very good idea, but at the same time he was so exhausted that he didn't really want to maintain his weakening sense of alertness. As if reading his mind, the older lion said, with just a touch of amusement in his voice, "I'm not going to kill you in your sleep, Kopa."

"Shouldn't we go a bit further before we rest?" Kopa asked, trying to hide the tension in his voice.

"I don't think you realize how much distance we've already put from Mount Tempest. We're so far from Janga that our trail has gone cold long ago. Besides, if I see someone coming, we can always hide in the passage."

He was right as always, and Kopa didn't argue further as he flopped down on the moist grass wearily. "I can't sleep," he murmured dejectedly. Now that he was out of danger, the images began to enter his mind again. Fujo sighed.

"You miss him," he said.

Kopa scowled. "Of course I miss him. Do _you_ miss him?"

"He was my nephew, Kopa."

"My father was Scar's nephew. It didn't stop him from doing what he did. Scar killed his own brother for power." He gave Fujo a meaningful look.

"Scar never cared for anyone but himself. You might think I'm something like that, but you'd be mistaken."

Kopa's eyes found the dried bloody claw marks in Fujo's flank and he relented. _He got hurt because of me. He shielded me even when I didn't listen to him._ Blinking back tears, he looked down at his paws. "I saw Janga...grieving over Sarabi after..." _After you killed her._ He couldn't say the words, and instead fought down the lump in his throat. "I felt _sorry_ for Janga because she didn't look wrongful, or malicious, or...or..._evil_. She acted like anyone would have if their mother was murdered." He sniffed. "But then Janga killed Tumaini without a shred of remorse. He didn't do _anything_ to her. How could...how could anyone..."

"No being is good or evil, Kopa," Fujo said. "Everyone has their own sense of right and wrong, and Janga did what she thought was right. You and Tumaini killed fifteen of her friends, and her idea of retribution was to hurt you by killing him. Of course, what makes you both blind is that neither of you can truly understand the other's pain. You think only of your own, and it makes you spiteful. That's when you forget what's right and want only to cause hurt to others."

Kopa growled softly. "Easy for you to say. You've never lost anyone like this—"

"I looked after Tumaini and Afua because their father was too negligent to," Fujo replied with just a hint of resentment in his voice. "They're both dead now, and I'd be very much surprised if it means nearly as much to Malka as it does to me. And Kumi—she was one of my closest friends for most of my life. I would be the one to comfort her when all my dear brother did was hurt her. Did you think I had no reason to hate him? Do you think I do these things because I want to?"

"Sure seems like it," Kopa muttered, not looking at him. "You don't seem to be even a bit ashamed at all the hurt _you've_ caused."

Fujo moved forward so that he was right in Kopa's face. "All my life, every decision I've made, every bit of _good_ I've done, it came at a cost. I might not be proud of the sacrifices I've made, but you're right, I'm not ashamed of it either. I've tried hanging back in hopes that one day Malka would wake up and take charge of his pride properly, and all that's come out of it is his messing things up, over and over. You've only known him for a short time, but I've seen more damage he's done than I care to endure, and I've had enough. Just be grateful you've never been placed in my position...it's always been easy for you to decide what's right and wrong."

Kopa was silent for a long time, once again uncertain of just how much he could trust the deceptive lion. "Don't take your family for granted, Fujo," he murmured at last. "It's more than most of us get." As Kopa closed his eyes and laid his face in his paws, Fujo stepped back and settled into a relaxed position across from him. He watched as Kopa slowly drifted off into sleep, thinking of the plans he made and what the troubled young lion was going to do when the time came for him to choose between doing the right thing and letting his heart rule his mind.

_Then again, even I can't pretend I've learned to stop feeling altogether._ Fujo recalled when he had first stepped into the chamber and found Kopa grieving...and then he saw Tumaini's body. In that moment, he had done his best to not let his own emotions show, because he realized that the sight of his nephew murdered threatened to unveil a part of Fujo he had thought he locked away long ago. He didn't want to think it was a part of himself to feel sorrow.

Oh, he was able to keep himself controlled. He was so accustomed to focusing on keeping things out of his mind that he managed to keep all his attention on getting Kopa out of Mount Tempest. When Janga confronted them, he was able to fight her off without thoughts of revenge or anything to betray his inner emotions. But now all he had to do was watch his surroundings and wait for the sun to come up, and with nothing else to distract him, his mind began showing him things he didn't want to see.

_Malka and Kumi had yet another argument, this one far worse than usual. Although it had ended hours ago with Kumi storming off in a towering rage, neither of them wanted to even talk to Fujo this time. He decided to give them some space, so he just sat in his den and wondered how he was going to make things even _temporarily _better this time._

You know you're wrong, Malka, _he thought. _Why won't you admit it? Kumi is starting to become ill because of all the stress you're putting on her.

_Unexpectedly, Afua ran inside the den, teardrops flying from his face as he flung himself into his uncle's fur. Fujo was startled but quickly embraced the cub. "Afua, what's wrong?"_

_Tumaini strode in after him, looking rather sullen. "Dad yelled at him," he muttered. "Said we were always in the way. That we were the problems in the pride."_

"_He doesn't mean it," Fujo said immediately, although he was inwardly irked that his brother's misdirected acrimony. He ruffled the tuft of fur on Afua's head. "It's alright, I think we just need to leave him alone for a while—"_

"_I hate him," Tumaini snarled, walking over and flinging himself angrily down on the ground. "I hate them both sometimes—"_

"_Tumaini," warned Fujo. His older nephew fell silent, shaking his head with an exasperated sigh._

"_Can't you do anything, uncle Fujo?" asked Afua, sniffing._

"_I'm afraid there's only so much I can do," he replied wistfully. "Your father is the king after all."_

"_I don't want him to be king!" the cub shouted. "You should be king, you're always so careful and you know what you're doing and all he does is make things worse."_

"_Afua, I won't let anything bad happen to this pride. Okay? You can hold me to that."_

Fujo opened his eyes as the recollection faded. It was so long ago when everything in the pride was, well, not great, but still repairable. Now he found himself trying to salvage whatever was left that Malka hadn't yet broken.

_We all pay our dues sooner or later, brother. I know I'll be condemned for the things I've done...but so will you._

_At least I'll be able to say I did the right thing when that time comes._

※※※

It was a peaceful night that settled over the hills in the thick forest. Had it been any darker, Kovu would have thought their surroundings rather creepy; as it was, the stars shone brightly through the trees overhead, and the moon's radiant glow along with the ambient chirping of crickets was enough to make the serenity of the night almost perfect.

He was relieved to see that Kiara was finally sleeping peacefully for the first time after countless troubled nights. He had never seen her so relaxed either in a while, and hoped that she would be feeling better when they continued on their way in the morning. _She's been so unhappy lately. And I can't even make it better. Not completely._

He still had no idea where they were going, but by some unknown guiding force, they had ended up in a forest with a massive mountain range on the other side. Kovu didn't know if they would find what they were looking for beyond the mountains, but hoped very much that their discovery was a good sign.

Vitani was stirring restlessly beside him. Her eyes were closed but he could tell that she wasn't the least bit sleepy. But he hadn't seen her like this ever since she was a cub, after they had been banished to the Outlands. _She had nightmares for weeks. She would cry sometimes too. She wouldn't let anyone see it...but I noticed._ Now she seemed more troubled than ever, as if she wasn't even sure of her own emotions anymore. He nudged her gently. "Tani, you alright?"

Her eyes opened, and she looked at him with a sigh. "Can't sleep either?"

"I'm keeping watch on Kiara."

She nodded, sitting up slowly. "She'll be fine."

"She's getting better," he agreed. "But what about you? We've been out of the Pridelands for three days now, and you haven't been sleeping."

"I'm just thinking about Kopa," she told him quietly. "I guess I just haven't yet accepted that he's alive yet."

"You'll see him soon."

"How do you know?" she asked, staring straight at him with those piercing blue eyes. "Anything could've happened by now, he could be anywhere—he might not even really be alive—"

He gave his sister a reassuring nuzzle. "Tani. It's okay. I promise we'll find him."

"What am I going to say to him, Kovu?" she asked, looking down with another sigh. "It's been so long since I've seen him. Everything was so different back then..."

"Then tell him you missed him," he said simply.

"But what if he hates me for what happened to him?"

"Hey, look at me." Kovu nudged Vitani's face so she was staring back at him. "That wasn't your fault, okay? It was Zira's."

"But I was the one who led her to him, Kovu. In a way, I'm responsible."

"You're putting too much blame on yourself. Listen, I know what it's like to be hated for something I didn't do, and trust me, no one's going to pin that on you. What did Simba say? You need to let go of the past. All it's doing is hurting you."

She nodded slowly. "I know. It's just...I'm just as nervous about finding him as I am never seeing him again. I just don't know what I'm going to do."

"It'll come to you. Just treat him as you would any of your friends."

Vitani was silent for a while. Then she smiled, now looking a bit more at ease. "Thanks, Kovu. You're right, I'll—" She stiffened, her ears perking up.

Kovu heard it too. Both of them turned around towards the barely audible sound of movement from behind them. The two siblings unsheathed their claws and moved in front of Kiara, ready for whatever was heading their way.

Four lions appeared from around the cluster of trees, and Kovu immediately leaped at the one at the front.

"Whoa, take it easy, Kovu! It's me!"

Kovu hastily slammed his paws into the ground, digging into the dirt and skidding before stopping right in front of the other lion's face. "Ni? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. What were you thinking, running off from Pride Rock like that without telling me?"

"Well, erm," Kovu stammered, suddenly rather uncomfortable. He hadn't expected Ni to find them like this, and he hadn't been thinking of how to explain the situation to him at all.

"We're going to find Kopa," said Vitani, clearly not sharing her brother's discomfort. The older lion sighed.

"You told them and then decided to just leave?" he asked exasperatedly.

"You're here too," Kovu pointed out defensively. "I thought you'd stay to keep watch over the Pride."

"I have a message for Nala, remember. Now if you just told me you were going, I'd have asked you to pass it onto her. But as it is, now it looks like we're coming with you."

"The pride will be fine," said the only lioness among the newcomers, who Kovu recognized as Sabini. "How's Kiara doing?"

Kiara stirred at the sound of the voices. She got up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes. "Kovu? What's going on? Who's that you're talking to...?" She blinked, looking around at the others. "Ni? Sabini? Leo? Tojo? Were you following us?"

"It took us a little while to catch up," said Tojo. "But we caught onto your trail on the second day."

"Ni, are you sure you don't want to go back to Pride Rock?" Kovu asked.

"Do _you_ even know where you're going?" Ni asked with a smile.

"No," the young lion admitted.

"Well, it's a good thing you were going in the right direction. We're heading to Mount Tempest, that's where Kopa will most likely be. It's where Malka's pride lived before Janga took over their home."

"The Tempest Pride," said Kovu thoughtfully. "I remember Simba mentioning them to me before."

"So why did you bring them?" Vitani asked, nodding towards Sabini, Leo, and Tojo.

"Safety in numbers," Ni said with a shrug. "And besides, Tojo's hoping to find someone who's with Simba right now."

"It's dangerous for you three youngsters to be out here alone," said Tojo darkly. "My birds spotted something earlier...something terrible."

"What do you mean?" asked Kiara. Leo shook his head sadly but didn't speak.

"Sarabi's dead," said Sabini in a low voice.

"What?" Kiara said.

"We found her body just off a clearing on the other side of the forest," the other lioness murmured. "She had been attacked by another lion. We don't know who. I'm very sorry to tell you this."

Kiara's expression of shock melted into distress. "I can't believe this," she whispered, as Kovu gently placed her face against his mane. "My poor grandmother...she's gone too..." He closed his eyes, hardly believing that the kind, strong lioness Sarabi really was gone. _I wonder if Simba knows...how's he going to deal with this?_

"Have you buried her yet?" asked Vitani. Ni shook his head.

"We didn't want to hang around, in case there was something lurking there."

"Take us to her. We can't leave her lying around for the buzzards."

Kovu found his voice. "We'll go bury Sarabi, and then we'll head for Mount Tempest. We can delay our journey for a bit if it means we can pay our respects." He looked at his mate, who nodded, fighting back tears. "I'm sorry, Kiara," he whispered, nuzzling her cheek.

The group of lions headed through the forest under Ni's lead, towards the slowly decomposing body of their king's mother. Her remains were quite a ways off, lying under a thick canopy of trees not far from the clearing, preserved by the cool of the forest's shade and protected from the scavengers and all but the most tenacious insects that could find her.

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]**

**Ni:** I am**  
**

**Sabini:** Fifty**  
**

**Leo:** Today**  
**

**Tojo:** Slash**  
**

**[Original Character Names]  
**

**Kumi:** Ten**  
**


	7. A Broken Trust I

After a long day's run across the grasslands, the massive form of Mount Kilimanjaro finally broke over the horizon. Kopa found himself spurred on at the thought of reaching the mountain stronghold and wanted to run even faster. But one thing held him back.

Fujo was flagging. Although he insisted that he was able to move without trouble, Kopa could see that the wounds Janga had inflicted on him was slowing him down. And despite everything that had happened between them, Kopa couldn't help but feel guilty at seeing the older lion straining himself to keep up and trying not to let it show. _He shielded me from Janga without hesitation. He got hurt because I didn't listen to him._ For days Kopa had been struggling to figure out what Fujo was after and why he did what he did. It was something he still didn't completely understand, but he did at least figure out some things. _He's not after power for himself. He isn't selfish. He doesn't kill because he enjoys it._

It made him unsure of what he was going to do about his mysterious companion. Sooner or later, Fujo was going to come face-to-face with Malka, and Kopa couldn't believe how indecisive it made him. There was an obvious choice, of course; side against the one who had killed Sarabi and was plotting the murder of his own brother. But as much as he hated to admit, he was indebted to Fujo, and not just for freeing him from Janga. Something about the things they had spoken about the previous night made Kopa believe there was a kind of nobility to Fujo, and he wanted to think there was an alternative to turning against him when that time inevitably came. _Can I save him? Separate him from his desire to dethrone Malka and reconcile them?_

He wasn't so sure about this, since he was still grappling with his own burning feelings of revenge when he confronted Janga again. _But Fujo also killed someone close to me, even if I could hardly remember her. So why do I feel so differently about it?_

His conflicted thoughts were interrupted when he realized that Fujo had trailed behind, chest heaving. Kopa slowed down as well, waiting for him to catch up. Then he realized that Fujo's injuries had opened again, and blood was trickling from the claw marks down his flank. The black-maned lion seemed to take no notice of this, however, and he looked like there was something else on his mind. "Before we meet the others..." he began.

Kopa already knew where this was going. "I'm not going to say a word," he said. "I know."

"If you do betray me, you'll be safe and I'll be outnumbered. So I'm trusting you on this."

Kopa nodded, once again unable to tell whether Fujo was being sincere or not. _If he tries anything, I can always expose him. This is out of his control now, and he knows it._

This realization was soon followed by another. _He really does want to stop Janga even if it means risking himself. He's not the enemy. Not really._

※※※

Most of Janga's remaining lions appeared visibly relieved as they regrouped with the tracking teams they met in the grasslands. They were clearly fearful of being pursued by the two prides and knew that they could very well be wiped out if Simba or Malka gave the order to come after them. Ten became fifteen, then nineteen, then twenty-four, then twenty-seven, then thirty-two. There were many more that were yet to rejoin them, but with each returning team the tension began to ease.

Not for Janga, however. She watched her lions moving about the area, talking amongst themselves and tending to their injuries. She mulled over everything that had happened the previous day, her gaze fixed on the sun that was beginning to rise over the horizon. "Kivuli!" she shouted, her voice carrying easily over everything else.

Kivuli immediately dashed out from the mass of lions and was at her side. "I'm here, Janga. You're hurt. I should do something ab—"

"I'm fine," Janga snapped, not even turning to look at her.

The grey-furred lioness wisely chose not to argue, instead asking, "What are we going to do now?"

"Well, we're not going to sit around and wait for Simba to come after us. Take twenty others and go back across the mountains. Find Kopa, bring him back to me."

It didn't sound easy, but Kivuli knew her friend wouldn't ask her to do it if she didn't think she was capable. "Okay. What are you going to do?"

Janga turned to face her, and the grey lioness tried not to flinch at seeing the raw scar on her face. "I'm going to find Jeraha. And then we're going to take back Mount Tempest."

"Can we trust Jeraha?" Kivuli asked. Janga gritted her teeth.

"I don't know. But that's what I intend to figure out when I find him." She pounded her fist on the moist dirt in frustration. "In a matter of days, I've lost control of everything. My mother's been murdered by Jeraha's lions. Fujo betrayed me and helped Kopa escape. And now Simba and Malka have taken back Mount Tempest."

"We can still fix this. But we have to be more careful now that the two prides have come together. And don't forget, Mheetu—"

Janga growled and got to her paws, and Kivuli fell silent immediately. "I should be at Mount Tempest by the time you return, Kivuli. Get going, we don't have any time to waste."

The pride leader let loose a roar to get everyone's attention, and every lion fell silent to listen. Her mounting frustration slipped away as she allowed her determination to keep her controlled. She was not going to think about how bad things were looking. She was not going to entertaining the notion of failure. _I've survived as a cub when my own father wanted me dead. I've gathered a pride and have more at my disposal than his foolish ambitions ever got him. I won't let this stop me. I won't even let it slow me down._

As Kivuli headed off with a score of lions, Janga told them about searching for Jeraha—and she instructed them on what they were to do should he prove to be traitorous. For all the years of friendship they had shared, she would kill him out of necessity if that was what it came to. He had chosen to side with her when she confided in him about her plan to take back her title; if she was forced to eradicate him, there would certainly be remorse—but no mercy at all.

※※※

"_What's his name?"_

_Zira looked up from the dark-furred cub she was nursing, and smiled as she always did at the sound of that voice. "His name is Kovu. He will be your successor."_

"_Let me see him," said Scar, moving closer. Obedient to him as always, Zira shifted so that he could see the sleeping cub's face. "Excellent...he looks strong and healthy..."_

"_I'm sorry he wasn't your son." Despite having been ordered by him to mate with another after Nuka was born weak and frail, she felt a twinge of guilt that Scar's future heir would have no ties to the lion she admired most._

"_It matters not. My genes are far too...unsuitable, that much is clear to me. What's important is that I have an heir."_

"_How will you allow it? The rule of the pride says that the eldest male—"_

_Scar actually laughed. "Zira, do you honestly believe Nuka will dare to challenge me? That pitiful cub will be lucky to survive past adolescence." He placed one paw to his chin. "But that reminds me. I can't say Sarabi's oldest daughter will be so submissive. I can tell that she's inherited my best traits without any of the shortcomings...she has such potential, shame she wasn't a male. She'll stand against me when she is old enough, I just know it. And that won't do at all..."_

_Zira said nothing, but felt a small spark of resentment at the mention of Scar's first children. Although she knew that Scar loved her, it bothered her that he had mated with Sarabi. _He picked her first, but got nothing out of it. At least now he knows that he's meant to be with me.

_Scar was still speaking. "I think I'll have to do something about her. And those other two brats as well. I can cut my ties with Sarabi now that we have Kovu here." Now Zira began to grin when she realized what he was getting at._

"_Oh, Scar, that would be wonderful. Those little wretches have been a thorn in my side for so long...if you would really dispose of them..." It was something she had been fantasizing about ever since Janga was born, but she had kept it to herself for fear Scar would be opposed to harming his own flesh and blood._

"_Don't you worry, my dear," Scar purred. "I'll see to it shortly..."_

_Both lions stared down at Kovu's sleeping form, filled with their own thoughts and the future that he would bring to the pride. Neither of them were aware that Sarabi was standing just outside the cave, frozen with trepidation at what she had just overheard. Careful not to make a sound, she turned and ran, frantic to find her children and hide them before Scar could carry out his bloody intentions._

※※※

"_Mother? What's wrong?"_

"_Shhh. Stay in here, and don't make a sound."_

"_Mother, I'm thirsty. Can I go to the water hole?"_

"_Not now, Hatia. Don't go anywhere, please."_

_She knew something was wrong. Her mother had been wary lately, but now it was like she was afraid of something. She didn't say a word, and silently stared out the crevice of the kopje at the bleak, dreary sky. She turned away when her mother called her._

"_Janga, keep watch on your sisters, okay? You have to make sure they're safe."_

_Janga wanted to ask what the matter was, but all she said was, "Yes, mother."_

_Sarabi nodded, looking like she was trying and failing to retain her composure. "I have to go. Stay safe."_

"_Mother, wait!" called Maskini, but Sarabi had already slipped out the kopje and ran off. Janga walked over to her sisters and embraced them as they huddled close to her. She could tell that they were frightened, and did her best to hide her own apprehension. Of course, it was only too easy to give in to fear when she wasn't even an adolescent yet, but she managed to hold it at bay._

"_What do we do, Janga?" whimpered Hatia, pressing her face against her older sister's chest._

"_We'll do as mother says and just stay here for now," she said gently._

"_How long do we have to stay here?" asked Maskini._

"_I don't know. I'm sure mother will come fetch us when we can come out." To take their minds off their predicament, she led them to the far side of the cave, where there was a colossal stone wall with lines scratched all over it. "Do you know what this is?"_

_Maskini and Hatia shook their heads._

"_This is our family tree. This is where the names of everyone in our family is kept for all time. Mother only brought me here once. Not even father knows about this place."_

_The two cubs' eyes were moving up and down the family tree, captivated by the complex weave of lines and names etched into the walls. Although Janga herself had done the same her first time here, she couldn't help but feel like its unspoken legacy was drawing her in as powerfully as it did the first time. Generations after generations of lions, ruling the Pridelands, preserving it, protecting it. _And it all came down to our father to destroy it all, _she thought bitterly. Had the Great Kings turned their backs on them when they saw the ruin Scar had brought upon everyone?_

"_Janga, what does that say?" asked Hatia, pointing at a name scrawled next to Scar's. Janga walked over, already knowing who she was talking about._

"_That's Mufasa, Scar's brother. He died a long time ago," she said shortly. "Mother says he was the king before Scar and was a great ruler."_ I don't know if it's true. Maybe mother just wanted to sound like father's family had some nobility. I doubt it though...

"_Look, he had a son," said Maskini, pointing at the name below Mufasa's, also indicated as male. Janga stiffened, knowing that the line was also connected to Sarabi's. This name was easier to read, and the cub squinted at it. "Si...Simba."_

"_He's also dead," said Janga._

"_Why did all this happen to them?" asked Maskini. "It's all so sad..."_

"_It just happens sometimes."_

_The three lioness sisters fell silent as they sat in the cave, looking over the family tree and waiting. Janga lay down, thinking about the days when the Pridelands weren't a dry and barren wasteland. When she was born, its lush nature was already receding, but there was still enough wildlife for the pride to live off of. But those days quickly grew short, and by the time Maskini was born, and later Hatia, the last signs of life had already rotted away. And the person she blamed for it was Scar. Although she didn't think he had control over the drought that struck the Pridelands, she wanted to blame him because she blamed him for everything._

※※※

They had almost made it to Mount Kilimanjaro when it happened.

Five lions ambushed them at the base of the mountain, cutting them off from it and slowly forcing them back. From the organized manner in which they moved, Kopa knew that it was one of Janga's teams.

Unfortunately, both he and Fujo were quite exhausted. They had just been catching their breath from a long run, thinking that they were safe now that they were so close. And now they were in trouble, with hardly enough energy to fight off another lion one-on-one. Being surrounded by a circle of them only made things worse.

Kopa felt a mounting frustration as he clawed and swiped at the enemy lions with whatever reserves of strength he had left. _We almost made it. Why do things never go right for a change? Why?_ As his weariness began to weigh heavily on him, he attacked with less focus and more aggression, making more reckless attacks and dealing more injuries in exchange for taking more injuries. He quickly managed to forget his flagging strength, and aimed to kill even though the circle of lions pressed in and gradually forced him onto the defensive.

Fujo wasn't doing so well. It seemed that the sleep he had been lacking was finally catching up to him, and his efforts to fight off the lions grew weaker and weaker until they finally forced him onto the ground. He didn't even try to get back up.

_No,_ thought Kopa angrily. _You're not going to die on me now. Not when there's still so much we have to do._ Without hesitation, he lunged forward, clawing at one of the lions' faces with so much force he ripped his eye out. The enemy lion roared in pain, and Kopa clenched his teeth around his opponent's neck and snapped it between his jaws. He thrust the limp body at a second lion, knocking him off his feet. He slowed momentarily to see Fujo staring at him in surprise, as if unable to believe that he had just saved him—

And then seven, no, eight, no, _nine_ lions leaped down from over the mountain ledge, swarming the four remaining enemies and pinning them down. It was over in a matter of seconds, and the lions stepped away from their dead victims, some of them with bloodied claws and muzzles. Kopa recognized some of them as part of the Tempest pride.

The leader, a reddish-brown adult male with a dark brown mane, was helping Fujo to his paws. "Fujo, nice to see you back."

"I appreciate your help, Chumvi," said Fujo. "But there's no time to talk. We need to get back to Mount Tempest."

"Way ahead of you," said Chumvi, as the others checked that all five enemy lions were dead, and he led them to climb up the mountain again. "I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon."

"I could say the same," said Fujo, wincing slightly as he stepped onto the first ledge and applied pressure to his wounded flank. "I thought you were on one of the assigned teams."

"We were sent back because we were wounded," he explained. "Most of us are about ready to move out by now though. Just tell us where to go."

"We're heading to Mount Tempest. How many have come back with you?"

They had reached the hidden entrance to Shira Hollow. Chumvi thought for a moment. "Twenty-six."

"Good. I'll need every one of them to come with us."

As Kopa followed the others into the tunnel, he felt a pang as he remembered for the millionth time that Tumaini wasn't with him. _This was his home more than it was mine. I was starting to get used to the idea of staying here with him. And now he's never coming back..._ He felt the familiar stirrings of anger in his heart, but by now he had learned to accept it. He would keep it contained until the moment when he came face-to-face with Janga. And now that they were going to rally such a large group of lions to bring back to Mount Tempest, he had a feeling that moment would come very, very soon.

* * *

**[Author's Note]  
**

**This is the first part of the two chapters looking into Janga's past shortly before she left the Pridelands. As a warning, the second part will contain events that may be upsetting to some of you, particularly due to the recent Connecticut school shooting. I'm writing this as a disclaimer that this story is not being written chapter by chapter, and that it had been already completed at the beginning of December. I'd also like to state that in no way do I endorse the murder of children, and that any depiction of it in the next chapter is purely fictional.  
**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]**

**Chumvi:** Salt**  
**


	8. A Broken Trust II

**[Author's Note]**

**********And there we have it, 100 reviews. You know what that means, expect new chapters to be posted every day. So it's final, the story will be completely posted by the end of the week. Thanks so much for all your support, I'm glad you enjoy reading my stories as much as I do writing them.**

**I'm a little uncomfortable posting this after the recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. ****As I mentioned in the previous chapter, **the events shown here are completely fictional and has no relevance to the shooting itself; I did not write this chapter today but several weeks ago. Nonetheless, I'd like to make it clear once again that I do _not_ advocate the murder of children, and in no way do the events of this chapter reflect my own views.  


* * *

_Janga was startled awake by the sound of rapid footpaws inside the kopje. She immediately leaped up, ready to protect her sisters, before realizing that she recognized the two adolescent lions. It was Jeraha, a tan-furred male with the beginnings of a dark crimson mane, and Kivuli, a dark grey lioness, her closest friends. "What is it?" she asked, noticing how anxious they were._

"_Janga, you have to come with us!" said Jeraha. "Scar's sent his hyenas after you and your sisters, and they're coming this way now!"_

"_What?" said Maskini, frightened._

"_There's not much time," said Kivuli._

_Janga didn't stop to panic. She turned to her sisters, and did her best to reassure them. "Okay, just stay with me and my friends. Everything's going to be okay."_

"_I'm scared," whispered Hatia._

"_It's alright. I won't let anything happen to you. Come on." Janga looked out the opening, and indeed could see swarms of hyenas on the dark horizon, still a long way off but closing fast. She looked around, trying to figure out where in the barren wastelands they could hide. She spotted the gorge, and knew that it was their only chance. "Kivuli, find my mother. Meet us at the gorge."_

_The adolescent lioness nodded and without saying a word, ran off in a direction perpendicular to the hyenas. Janga knew that she would find a way to cut around them and reach Sarabi. Whether they would be able to make it back in time she didn't know, but she hoped her friend wouldn't let her down. Turning her attention to her sisters, she spoke as soothingly as she could. "We're going to have to run now. Just trust me, okay?"_

_They nodded, still looking afraid but at least managing to keep it in check. Janga picked up Hatia and placed her onto her back. "Hold onto me tight, Hatia." The youngest lioness cub put her paws around her older sister's neck. Jeraha stooped down and Maskini climbed onto his back. Checking that both cubs were secure, the two friends slipped out of the kopje and ran in the direction of the gorge with all haste._

_Janga was a fast runner for her age, but having a cub on her back slowed her down considerably. However, Jeraha seemed to be doing fine, despite the fact that he was carrying the older cub. Janga fought to keep up, knowing that to slow down meant death. The hyenas would be caught up at the kopje for a little while, but it wouldn't be long before they caught onto their scent trail again._

_They crossed the Zuberi River without too much trouble, since its once healthy current was now only a feeble trickle, and soon they were close to the canyon that branched off from the river's main course. The dam that overlooked the abyss was still present even though there wasn't a drop of water in the gorge._

_Janga carefully made her way down the dam, careful not to lose her footing on the gathered logs. If she slipped and fell, she would not just be endangering herself but also Hatia. Jeraha was heading downward by a different route, knowing better than to increase the risk of loosening the logs by stepping where Janga did. There was the occasional branch that tumbled loose, but the two were able to make their way down into the gorge without trouble. It was colder down here, and an eerie silence hung over the air._

"_Are you sure we can lose them?" Jeraha asked quietly._

I don't know, _Janga thought. But she decided not to voice her doubt. _If I show fear, Maskini and Hatia will as well. "_Yeah. Let's keep moving though. I have to figure out what we're going to do now."_

"_You should leave."_

_She turned to look at him sharply. "You mean leave the Pridelands?"_

_Jeraha nodded._

"_No. I'm not going to run away, because—because—" She gave a sudden growl of rage. "How could he do this? My own father, sending out those hyenas to kill us!" _I know he didn't really care about us, but he wants to actually kill us? _Janga didn't think it was possible for her to hate Scar more than she already did, but now she was absolutely livid. _I'm not going to let him do this. I'm going to—

"_What else can you do?" asked Jeraha. She gave the answer without hesitation._

"_I'm going to kill him."_

_Her friend was obviously not expecting this. "What? Janga, you can't—"_

"_He's not going to chase me away. And I'm not going to lay down and die because he wants me to."_

"_Janga, you won't stand a chance against him," said Jeraha, but there was no reasoning with her._

"_Look, Jeraha!" Janga shouted, pointing at the other end of the gorge, where the lifeless plains were once grassland. "Look out there and tell me you want me to run into that wasteland. Maskini and Hatia—they'll never survive out there. How can I bring them into that?" He didn't answer, further convincing her that she was right. "I won't go. And I won't keep running until the hyenas corner us. I'm going to find him, and if I can't kill him, I'll die facing him. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he had me scared and begging for my life before his hyenas get me—I'm going to show him_, _I'm going to let him see how much I hate him—"_

"_Bold words," said a sneering voice from behind them. "But how are you going to get to Scar if you can't even get past us?"_

_Janga recognized the voice even before she and Jeraha turned around. And she was not surprised to see a dozen hyenas approaching them, led by the one who had spoken. Shenzi, their quick-mouthed and vicious leader._

"_You've got all our friends up there looking for you," continued Shenzi, advancing on the group of young lions as they backed away slowly. "But I figured you'd be hiding down here. Why don't you just give up, and let us do it the easy way?"_

_Janga slowly set Hatia down off her back, and Jeraha also slid Maskini onto the ground. "Maskini, Hatia, run." The two cubs immediately turned and ran._

"_After them," said Shenzi. The male beside her, Banzai, immediately moved to chase, but Janga was ready. She intercepted him and sent him sprawling, although the force of the collision also dazed her. A second hyena tried to leap on her, but Jeraha clawed at him, forcing him away._

_Banzai staggered and regained his balance, baring his fangs at them. "You little—"_

_Janga didn't know how they were going to escape this. It was two lions (and she was only nearing adolescence) against twelve hyenas, and they had no way out of the gorge except a straight run that would get them caught and killed within minutes. She stared down Shenzi, deciding that if she couldn't show Scar what she was made of, she could at least deal with one of his lackeys._

_The female hyena recognized the look in her eyes and snickered. "Oh, we've got a tough one here. I'm going to enjoy this..."_

_Janga ran straight towards her, dodging and weaving around the hyenas that tried to stop her. She kept her eyes on Shenzi the whole time, completely fearless from what she was about to do. She had almost made it when Banzai lunged in from the side and tackled her to the ground._

_She didn't even hesitate, unsheathing her claws and stabbing them into his foreleg. He growled in pain but didn't let up, his paws constricted over her windpipe. She struggled __even as she felt her own strength fading_, trying to get at every bit of him she could. Just as she was about to black out, she saw a tawny blur appear from the corner of her vision and slam into Banzai, knocking him off her.

_Even as she fought to catch her breath, Janga forced herself to stand, and she saw a fierce blue-eyed lioness facing down Banzai. This one was nearing adulthood, and even though she was facing away from her, Janga knew immediately who it was._

"_Nala," she gasped, shaking her head to clear her swimming vision._

"_Get away from here," Nala snapped at her while advancing on Banzai. The hyena snarled at her._

"_We should've killed you in the elephant gravey—"_

_She swiped at him without warning, catching him across the face with her claws. Shenzi and the other hyenas moved towards her. "Oh, you're in trouble now, you meddling—"_

_Jeraha lunged at the female hyena, knocking her back. Janga moved fast, sending Shenzi crashing to the ground as Jeraha rolled off and forced the other hyenas back. He shoved Janga away as Shenzi leaped to her paws. At the same time, Nala slammed into Banzai, sending him crashing into his fellow hyena. The lioness didn't even slow down, leaping onto the cross-eyed one called Ed._

_A heartbeat later she was pinned to the ground by three more hyenas, and although she struggled, she was held fast. Shenzi's teeth were bared in a malicious smile as she approached. "Well, Banzai has a point. Maybe we should finish the job we started all those years ago. Just like we did to your friend." Nala glared at her, although there were now tears of rage in her eyes. Janga tried to move to attack again, but was pounced on by two hyenas. She was held down so tightly she couldn't even breathe._

_Jeraha moved so fast that none of the hyenas even had time to react; he leaped onto Shenzi's back, clawing and biting at her furiously. She snarled and struggled, trying to dislodge him. Banzai sent his claws ripping down the adolescent lion's back, drawing four long streaks of blood. Jeraha roared and fell off, but he sent Banzai away with a hard kick nonetheless. He threw himself on top of Nala as the other hyenas entered a frenzy, shielding her with his body as they attacked him ferociously._

"_Stop it!" roared Janga, fighting to free herself with every bit of strength she had. "Leave him alone!" She couldn't just watch, couldn't let them do this..._ Someone...stop them...

_As if summoned by her pleading thoughts, three powerful roars echoed through the canyon, and the next thing she knew, the hyenas went flying in every direction as a pair of fully grown lionesses leaped into the midst of the chaos, followed by a fiery-eyed Kivuli. She smacked away the hyena holding down Janga and they immediately moved to help Jeraha._

_The two adult lionesses were taking on the hyenas relentlessly, and now put them on the defensive. Janga immediately recognized both of them even as she kept her attention on getting to her friend. Kivuli had found not only Sarabi, but also __Sarafina__, Nala's mother. Although they were still outnumbered two-to-one, she knew that they were more than a match for the hyenas._  
_  
Shenzi seemed to sense this as well; a few minutes into the fight and she could tell that the lions would win before long. "Retreat!" she called, and without hesitation, every hyena broke off from whatever they were doing and ran back towards the dam, a few of them a bit worse for wear._

_Janga stared after them as they disappeared from sight, breathing heavily. Sarabi came over and nuzzled her. "Are you alright?"_

_She had a few scratches and bite marks, but ignored it as she hurried over to her friend. "Jeraha..."_

_He was sprawled on the rocky ground, his face, chest, stomach, and back covered in numerous injuries. Nala grimaced as she got up, looking down at the young lion that had taken the worst of the hyenas' attacks and saved her life. "Is he going to be alright?"_

"_He'll be fine," said Sarafina quickly, looking him over. "He should be moved very quickly, but these wounds are all shallow. Still, you're very lucky, Nala..."_

"_Janga, where are your sisters?" asked Sarabi suddenly, looking around anxiously. The question brought Janga's thoughts back to Maskini and Hatia._

"_I told them to run," she said, pointing down the opposite end of the canyon. "They shouldn't be too far ahead."_

_Sarafina now had Jeraha's unconscious form on her back. "Then let's catch up to them. Shenzi could be getting the other hyenas right now to find us."_

_The group of lionesses dashed across the canyon, eyes and ears alert for the two cubs or any sign of trouble. Janga sought out Sarabi, remembering the reason they were in this mess. "Mother, why is Scar trying to kill us?"_

_Sarabi's eyes were full of sadness. "It's complicated."_

"_I'm not a cub anymore, mother."_

"_Yes, you are. But you were forced to grow up faster than most."_

"_Does he want us dead because of Zira's cub? Is it a male this time? Is that why?"_

_Her mother nodded reluctantly. "Scar has his heir at last."_

"_I was his heir," Janga said, with no small sense of resentment. "And I think we should stand up to him. We should stop him, and drive all the hyenas out, and—"_

"_No, Janga. You have to leave. It's not safe for you here anymore."_

"_I'm not afraid of him."_

"_I know. But that's not enough to stop him, and I don't want to lose you too..."_

"_Sarabi," said Sarafina sharply. "We've got trouble."_

_Janga saw them immediately. Hyenas, a massive swarm of hyenas, making their way into the gorge, cutting off their escape and heading in their direction. The lionesses hurried to the rock face, hiding in the shadows and using the cover of the protruding rocks to avoid being spotted._

"_Where are Maskini and Hatia?" asked Sarabi frantically, her eyes sweeping the canyon floor._

"_Up there!" said Nala, pointing. Janga followed her gaze. There, climbing up the side of the canyon wall, were Maskini and Hatia. They were making slow progress but were already halfway up._

_This only seemed to make Sarabi more anxious. "They'll fall!"_

_However, Janga was secretly thankful for her sisters' quick thinking. "The hyenas probably didn't see them. We should start climbing too, before they reach us."_

_They broke into a run again, heading towards the two lioness cubs' position at best speed. The hyenas were still distant specks on the other side of the gorge, but it would only be a matter of time before they caught the lionesses' scents, unless they got off the ground._

_As soon as they reached the spot where Maskini and Hatia began climbing, Janga saw that there indeed were a lot of ways to scale the rock face. But her sisters were now two-thirds of the way up, and she wanted to catch up to them because they were in danger of falling. Nala went first, followed by Kivuli, then Janga, then Sarafina carrying Jeraha, then Sarabi at the very bottom. Janga was climbing faster than Sarafina, who was careful not to let Jeraha slip off, but she decided that it was more important to get to Maskini and Hatia first. They could always regroup at the top of the gorge._

_She had never climbed rocks before, and was relying purely on instinct as she made her way up. And although she didn't like to look down, she had to check once in a while to see how far the hyenas were. She tried to suppress her nerves as she saw them getting closer every time she looked._

_Nala stopped them on a flat ledge stuck into a small cave-like formation in the side of the rock face. As she helped pull the others up, she said, "We should stay here until the hyenas pass. They'll see us if we keep climbing, but this hole should hide us."_

"_But my sisters—" Janga began._

"_...are almost at the top of the gorge," said Nala firmly. "They'll be fine. They won't be if we put the hyenas on their trail though."_

_Sarafina set Jeraha down carefully on the ledge. Sarabi sighed. "She's right. Let's wait for just a little while, and—"_

_Everyone froze as a terrible sound reached their ears. It was the sound Janga had been dreading ever since they had been on the run from the hyenas, and although she knew what it was, she couldn't bring herself to believe it really was that._

_It was Maskini and Hatia. And they were screaming in pain._

_The sound grated into Janga's very being, as if just hearing it was hurting her physically. Every part of her was pushing her to move, to act, to do something, but instead she collapsed to the ground, as if overpowered by the agony that made the blood pound in her ears. She clutched her head, feeling powerless to do anything until she stopped hearing that awful sound._

_Sarabi was fighting to move over to the rock face and keep climbing, but Sarafina was restraining her with a lot of difficulty. "Sarabi, don't—"_

"_My daughters!" Sarabi shouted, although it was nowhere loud enough to be heard over the screaming. "I have to get to them—I have to stop—"_

"_Sarabi, you'll never get to them in time. And those hyenas down there will see you."  
_  
"_I don't care! I have to—I can't just—" Tears were flying from Sarabi's orange eyes as she fought and struggled against her friend. "Janga! Janga, what are you doing? Go and help them!"_

_At the sound of the desperation in her mother's voice, Janga snapped out of it and rushed towards the rock face. A very small part of her knew Sarafina was right, that they were already too late, but she couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it, and her mother was right; she had to do something. _I can save them...I know I can...

_Nala bound over in one move and pinned her down. She clamped one paw over Janga's mouth to stop her from roaring out. "Keep quiet," she hissed._

Get off me! Let me go! You can't do this! _Janga suddenly stiffened as she heard a sickening snap from somewhere above her, and the screaming ceased immediately. A moment later, two small blurs tumbled past them, falling rapidly through the air. And although she only saw them for a split second, she was able to discern Maskini and Hatia's bloodied and broken bodies as if the image was scorched into her eyes. She wanted to scream, but Nala's paw was still pressed down hard over her face._

_And then she saw him._

_Scar, standing at the edge of the cliff, looking high and mighty as if he had accomplished some formidable deed. If the sight of him caused Janga's heart to race with anger before, it now made her positively repulsed. She lay there on the ledge, hoping the shadows cast over her weren't too dark. Hoping he could see her. Hoping he would come and face her, so she could do her worst with him..._

_But Scar seemed to only notice the crowd of hyenas assembled below. "There, I've taken care of two of them. Now stop dawdling and find the others. They can't be far." With that, he turned his back and walked away from the cliff edge. The sound of hyenas running off quickly faded away, and silence settled over the gorge._

You wretched demon, _Janga thought, fury and anguish clashing inside her mind with an intensity she had never experienced before. _They were your own daughters, they were _defenceless_, and you killed them. You killed them.

_A change had come over Sarabi. All the tears and despair had vanished from her being, and she looked almost indifferent to what had just happened. And yet Janga knew that she was trying to hold herself together, knew that the cold murders they had just witnessed had broken her. "Janga. You're going to leave the Pridelands."_

"_No," said Janga, forcefully shoving Nala off her. "I'm going after Scar. I'm going to make him pay."_

"_You will do no such thing. Your father—"_

"_He's not my father!" she roared._

_But Sarabi had finally snapped. "He is your father, that's why he wants you dead! If you go after him, he's going to catch you, and he's going to hurt you before he kills you. If that's what you're after, then I'll kill you myself right now because I won't have you suffer!"_

_The fierce declaration was so unexpected that Sarafina, Nala, and Kivuli froze. Even Janga was shocked by what her mother had just said. "Mother...you..."_

_Sarabi's expression instantly broke down into sorrow, and she embraced her only remaining daughter. "I'm sorry, Janga. I didn't mean that. But I can't lose you too. You're all I have left."_

_For the first time, Janga felt the tears spill from her eyes. And now she let in all the fear and helplessness she had been repressing her entire life. "Come with me," she whispered. _I need you now more than ever._  
_  
"_I wish I could," Sarabi sighed. "But Scar will come after you if I leave the Pridelands. If I stay, I can at least fool him into thinking I'm hiding you for a little while."_

_Janga felt a lump rise in her throat. She knew her mother was right, but she never felt so disconsolate. She tried to find that part of herself that had grown up ahead of her time, the part of her she used as a shield from all the misery and pain she had grown up with. But right now all her emotions were in turmoil, and she didn't know if she could do this without Sarabi. _I have to try. I have to try and survive because that's what I've always done. "_I'm going to miss you."_

"_And I'll think of you every day until I see you again," Sarabi said softly. "In this life or the next."_

_Janga looked at Kivuli, who was supporting a disoriented Jeraha. "Are you coming with me?"_

"_Of course," said the grey-furred lioness. _

_Jeraha struggled to speak, but his voice was firm. "We'll never abandon you, Janga. That's a promise."_

"_Then you should get going," said Sarafina. "Sarabi and I will keep the hyenas off your trail until you've made it out of the Pridelands."_

_Janga turned her eyes to her mother's. She wanted to ask if she was going to be alright, but could only bring herself to say, "I'll return one day. I'll make everything right when I'm ready to face Scar."_

_There was a great sadness in Sarabi's eyes, along with just a hint of wistfulness. "I'll wait for you then."_

※※※

Janga had found him at last. There he was, prowling through the grassland with only two others behind him. They all looked somewhat wounded, and she wondered if this was all that was left of his team. She silently gestured for her lions to stay exactly where they were, and stepped out of the tall grass to meet him, seemingly alone.

_If the promise he made me all those years ago means nothing to him now, I want to know. It's easy for a coward to feign innocence when outnumbered, but I want to see how sincere he really is when there's no one else with me._

Jeraha spotted her immediately, and halted in surprise. His eyes were immediately drawn to the scar over her left eye. "Janga..."

She growled. After everything she had done to disconnect herself from the heartless tyrant she used to call her father, it seemed Scar's shadow still hung over her in ways she couldn't separate herself from. She hated that the scar that meant nothing to her could make even her closest friends look at her different. _Then again, maybe he's afraid of me for a different reason..._

"I've been betrayed, Jeraha," she said, pretending she didn't notice his look. "So I'm trying to figure out whether you were involved in it."

"What do you mean?" he asked uncertainly.

"My mother is dead," she snapped, the sharp tone making him flinch. "She was killed by _your_ lions."

"My—the ones that disappeared all those days ago...?"

"Don't play stupid with me. I know you're not so negligent as to let your own lions slip away. And what motive would they have to kill my mother? This is a question I find myself asking you as well, since they had to have taken their orders from you..."

"No, I...Fujo..."

"So Fujo _was_ involved..." There was a glint to Janga's eyes now. "Tell me, Jeraha. Where were you while Kivuli and I were fighting off Simba and Malka's prides at Mount Tempest?"

This time he answered right away. "I captured two lions by an oasis, one of them was the lioness who overheard us at Mount Tempest. I fought against Malka's pride later until Simba showed up and outnumbered us. Janga, you have my word...whatever happened to Sarabi, I had _nothing _to do with it. I would never..."

Janga continued to stare him down, noting that if he really was against her, he'd have tried to overpower her already. Not to mention he seemed to know about the capture of those two lions which checked out with what Kivuli had told her, so he was probably telling the truth. She relented, but the tension didn't leave her expression. "I managed to capture Kopa himself shortly after the two lions you mentioned were brought in. But he escaped...thanks to Fujo."

"So he either corrupted my friends, or revealed them as traitors," said Jeraha slowly. Janga nodded. Although all he had to show for it was his word, she knew he would have had no prior knowledge of the recent events unless he really was telling the truth. And he had been her friend for most of her life; she wouldn't be suspicious of him like this now that it was clear that he was no traitor.

"Okay, Jeraha. We're going to rally the rest of our lions, and then we're going to take back Mount Tempest." With a single gesture, she ordered her entire mass of lions out of hiding, and turned to head back across the grasslands.

Jeraha silently followed, relieved that his cover had held. Although he had no intentions of turning on Janga, he was afraid that she would know that he was partially involved in Sarabi's murder. And had she ordered her lions to kill him, he wouldn't have escaped. _I'm just glad I'm on her side again._

Not that death itself was what Jeraha feared most. The idea of betraying Janga was far more unforgivable to him, and he knew that what he had done against her would eat away at him. But he would gladly pay the price for her, because he knew that Sarabi's murder was for Janga's own good, even if she didn't know it herself.

_So Fujo is a traitor after all. I knew I couldn't trust him._Jeraha hoped he would be able to silence Fujo himself, just to tie off any loose ends with his plan to take out Sarabi. It wouldn't do for Janga to hear him blowing Jeraha's cover if she got to him first.

_I'll help you retake the throne like I promised, Janga. But I did what was best for you and I hope the sacrifice I've made for you is one thing you will never find out._

* * *

**[Author's Note]  
**

**This was possibly one of my darkest chapters, ever. Now you can see why Janga blamed Nala for the deaths of her sisters, even though whether she really could have saved them was left ambiguous. You can also see why I couldn't help drawing similarities between Scar's cold murders of his daughters and the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It hit really close to home for me and I didn't want to look like I was disrespecting the memory of the unfortunate children and their heroic teachers.  
**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]**

**Shenzi:** Uncivilized**  
**

**Banzai:** Ten thousand years (Japanese)**  
**

**Ed:** Wealthy friend (Old English)**  
**


	9. The Graveyard

As soon as Kovu spotted Mount Tempest, he knew right away that they were in the right place. Ni raised a restraining paw, motioning for everyone to stop. "Hold up. I see lions outside."

"Are they ours?" asked Sabini.

"I don't know," said Ni. "But how do we find out?"

Tojo turned to look at the bluebirds perched on his shoulders. "Go take a look, guys."

The six birds took off and flew close to the ground, around the lions walking or sitting around outside. Vitani stared after them curiously. "How will they know whose side those lions are on?"

"They know what Janga and her friends look like," said Tojo. "We had a lot of encounters with them while we were on the run."

Kovu was watching Kiara out of the corner of his eye; she had been very quiet for the entire trip. After they had found Sarabi's body and buried her, she seemed to have receded into her state of depression again. _What am I going to do about her? Everything just keeps getting worse and worse and I don't know how to help her..._

"Hey, it looks like one of them recognizes your birds," said Vitani, pointing at an orange-tan lioness with a tuft who was standing just outside the entrance. The birds were perching on her shoulders and raised paws, and she seemed to be quite friendly with them.

Tojo blinked, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Then the lioness looked up and saw him. "Tojo?"

"Tama!" He dashed straight towards her, and the six birds took off in excitement as the two lions embraced, pressing their faces into each other and laughing excitedly. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"I never thought I'd see _you_ again! Where have you...what are you..." Tama noticed Kovu and the others. "How did you end up with the Pridelanders?"

"It's a very long story," said Tojo, smiling and staring at his mate in contentment as if he couldn't stop looking at her. "It's been so long...and...and you're still so beautiful..."

"Oh, stop it," she laughed, smacking him on the shoulder. "You haven't aged one bit since I last saw you." She looked over the others as they approached. "Well, strike me down and call me an antelope...Leo? Sabini? What are you doing here?"

Leo puffed up his chest. "You know me, Tama. I love a good fight when there's one to be had. And I thought it'd really do my ancestors proud to protect my old pride—"

Sabini silenced him with a firm nudge. "Don't listen to his buffalo manure, Tama. If you must know, we've been on the run from Janga for a while now. We thought our best chances were to find the Pridelands again."

Tama nodded. "Not a bad idea. We're with Malka's pride right now, so I don't think she'll be able to catch you on your own." She looked at Ni. "So, who's this?"

He nodded respectfully at her. "My name is Ni. I'm the leader of Leo and Sabini's pride...at least, I was until Janga forced all of us to split up. I'm actually looking for Simba and Nala right now."

"Oh, they're out in the grasslands right now, looking for Janga."

"Which way did they go?"

Tama pointed.

"Right." Ni turned to Kovu, Kiara, and Vitani. "You all coming?"

"Yes," the three young lions all said at once.

"Wait, can't this wait until they get back?" asked Tama. Ni shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid it can't. We've been delayed enough as it is, and these three have another reason to find Simba. We'll be able to pick up on their trail though, and we can always find our way back if we don't find him."

She nodded. "Be careful. The grasslands are crawling with Janga's tracking teams."

"I'll keep that in mind." Without another word, the four lions dashed away from Mount Tempest's clearing and disappeared into the grass.

Tama turned her attention to Leo and Sabini. "Well, come on, make yourselves comfortable," she said. "You should go talk to Malka, the pride king here—he's currently in his private chamber in the mountain. I'll show you where it is. And Tojo," she looked at her mate. "Wait till you see your daughter. She wasn't even born when you left the Pridelands. She's all grown up now, and she'll be so happy to see you. I haven't seen her today, but I'm sure she's around here somewhere. We'll go find her as soon as I tell Malka about Ni..."

※※※

Kopa wondered if they were going to run into more of Janga's teams as he headed back to Mount Tempest with Fujo and the others. They numbered twenty-eight in all, and if there were any enemy lions close by, they would certainly not miss the commotion from the gathered members of the Tempest Pride. Then again, he doubted any small group of lions would be foolish enough to take on such a large number. _That's if Fujo hasn't planned anything to turn this advantage against Malka._

_I saved Fujo. I know he did the same for me in Mount Tempest, but he was right...I really didn't need him now that we've made it here...would've been wrong to let him die after he freed me though..._ He wasn't sure how he felt about what he did though. _Was it the right thing? Have I let him live and given him the chance to turn against us later? _No matter how they had helped each other and seemed to have reached an understanding, Kopa just couldn't quite bring himself to trust Fujo. He still didn't know what he was going to do once he found Malka again. It just didn't feel right to sell Fujo out, even after all the things he had done.

_What would you have done, Tumaini? Would you have let him die?_

_No, that's not your way. You saved me even though you didn't know who I was. I could have been someone like Janga for all you knew. But you chose to save me. And you would have given Fujo a chance, because you knew him better than I ever will, and you would have seen the good in him. You would have kept trying to help him._

Kopa was still filled with uncertainty about Fujo, but he was certain of one thing. Janga was the mutual enemy, and he decided to deal with her before he made up his mind about his mysterious companion. At least that much they could do on the same side.

_If you do betray me, you'll be safe and I'll be outnumbered. So I'm trusting you on this._ That was what Fujo had said. And he was right, there wasn't possibly anything he could do to Kopa now. _I guess it's not asking too much for me to start trusting him on some things too._

※※※

From a ridge overlooking the grasslands, Kivuli stared down at the huge assembly of lions making their way from Mount Kilimanjaro. "We can't attack them now, it'll be a close fight. And they'll be at Mount Tempest by the next dawn at the latest." Even if Janga did manage to defeat the two prides, these reinforcements would definitely mean trouble.

"So what do we do, Kivuli?" asked Taya, one of her subordinates.

_We should've found them sooner, that's what we should've done. _The grey lioness gritted her teeth, frustrated with the dilemma. "We'll have to follow them for now. If something happens, at least we'll be ready. At worst, we'll ambush them once they reach Mount Tempest and support the rest of the pride." It wasn't a great plan, but it was all she had.

Kivuli was about to give orders to move out discreetly, when she felt something knock into her hard. Caught by surprise, she pitched forward and rolled painfully down the rocky ridge, and spotted the tan-coloured lioness running alongside her briefly before dashing away. _Wait, I've seen her before! It's the one I captured in the forest clearing!_

Mateka dashed away as Kivuli's team broke from cover and chased after her. At the bottom of the ridge, twenty-eight heads turned, and then pandemonium broke loose.

※※※

Although there were twice as many Tempest Pride lions compared to the number on Kivuli's team, Fujo urged everyone to keep moving. "They're trying to hold us here!" he shouted. "Something must be happening at Mount Tempest—"

"Where are we going?" Chumvi called back as they ran in a ragged formation, with the enemy lions in pursuit.

"I know somewhere we can lose them! But we can_not_ stop and fight! We need every lion at Mount Tempest as soon as possible!"

Kivuli had rolled to the bottom of the ridge, got up rather stiffly, and dashed off after the lioness that had attacked her. One lion broke off from the Tempest Pride and immediately gave chase, prompting three more enemy lions to follow him.

"Kopa!" shouted Fujo angrily. "Where do you think you're going?" However, the younger lion gave no response, and the black-maned lion had no time to dwell on him, because they had reached the place where he planned to lose the enemy lions.

"The elephant graveyard," gasped Chumvi.

"You've been here before?" Fujo asked.

"Once. I was a cub. Got in trouble for it later too...but I was taking dares with Nala—"

"Chumvi! Not now!" Fujo sidestepped as Taya lunged at him, but he didn't slow down as he kept running.

"Sorry!"

The two lions dashed at the head of the formation, weaving to and fro through the geysers, scattered bones, and rock mounds scattered all over the graveyard.

"Where did that kid Kopa go?" asked Chumvi, as they leaped over a gigantic elephant tusk bone.

"I don't know...he could be anywhere..."

"Go find him! We're not going to outrun these lions anytime soon!"

Fujo hesitated, rather flustered at the unexpected ambush. His mind raced, trying to think of a solution. They could keep running, but Kivuli would of course order her team to pursue them. Not to mention, Kopa could be anywhere...

_That's it._ Fujo suddenly noticed how at least a third of the enemy lions had broken off. _They're after Kopa. On Janga's orders, no doubt._ And with this realization, he knew just how to kill two birds with one stone.

"Keep everyone close to the graveyard," he told Chumvi. "I'll be right back."

Without another word, he suddenly turned, sprinting off in the direction Kopa had gone.

※※※

Kopa hadn't been running through the elephant graveyard for long before he lost sight of Kivuli. It was hard not to, what with the elephant skeletons lying all over the place, not to mention all the steam that constantly gushed from the geyser vents. But it wasn't Kivuli he was looking for.

"Mateka!" he called, dashing around a colossal rib cage and listening for the sound of footpaws. "Mateka, where are you? It's me, Kopa!"

There was no one else around. He had even managed to lose the lions that were chasing him. Now that silence settled over this part of the graveyard, he began to feel a bit unnerved.

"Mateka?" He knew it wasn't smart to just call out like this, but as soon as he had seen her running down the ridge and dashing off that she had attacked Kivuli's group. She had exposed them and prevented a potentially disastrous ambush, and he had to make sure she was alright if Kivuli's lions were going after her.

"Kopa!" A tall figure appeared from the mist, and as it ran closer to him, he saw that it was Fujo. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to find my friend," Kopa said. "She put herself in danger for us."

"I realize that, but you're not doing anyone good by running off like this," said Fujo sternly. "If you get yourself captured again, I won't be able to free you a second time. And if you get killed...I'd have to explain that to Malka. Now come with me." He walked alongside Kopa, leading him through the makeshift paths in the graveyard.

"Sorry," the younger lion said again. Now that he slowed down and was able to think more clearly, he began to feel a bit stupid. It wasn't really a smart thing for him to do, and he _was_ lucky not to have been surrounded and killed.

"Now, you're not going to cause me any more trouble," said Fujo quietly as they made their way through an array of geysers. "I've got enough to deal with that I don't need you messing things up for me."

"I won't. I was just afraid I was going to lose another friend. I didn't really know what else to do." They were walking along a deep, massive pit that was almost perfectly round. It was so full of steam that he couldn't see the bottom, even though he could tell that it curved inward as it got deeper.

"I know the feeling," said Fujo. He sounded almost sympathetic.

And then he pushed Kopa, hard. Before the younger lion could even react, he felt his back footpaw sink into a geyser, followed by a sudden hot pain as a blast of steam erupted along his hind leg and the fur on his abdomen. He stumbled back reflexively—

—and felt his back paws standing on air. He grabbed at the edge of the pit with his front paws, digging his claws into the dirt even though he couldn't find very good purchase. He winced as his injured footpaw brushed along the pit's wall.

Fujo was staring down at him, his expression unreadable. And yet Kopa had no doubt that he was relishing this moment, and he glared back at him defiantly. "I was just as confused as you are when I lost my friends," the black-maned lion said, his casual tone holding just a tone of smugness. "But eventually I figured out what to do. So I'm sure it'll come to you as well." And with a single sweep of his paw, he knocked Kopa's feeble grip loose and sent him tumbling down into the pit. He turned and walked away without looking back.

"You really aren't going to cause me any more trouble," he murmured. "And I guess I'll have to explain to Malka what's happened to you."

_Sorry, Chumvi. I tried to find him but I couldn't. But we can't dawdle...after all, we're needed at Mount Tempest. _The lie would become truth as soon as he spoke the words. And no one would ever know the difference.

※※※

Kivuli had watched as Fujo threw Kopa into the pit. Although the double-crossing lion was still a mystery to her, she knew that he still had too many lions at his disposal for her to take on. She could only hope that Janga would be able to stand her ground against them at Mount Tempest.

_But as for Kopa..._ He was now well and truly alone, and injured too, no doubt. Kivuli had never seen a more perfect opportunity to complete her task, and she wasted no time calling her lions together and sending them down into the pit after him. _This time, I'll make sure he can't so much as crawl before I bring him back to Janga. Then she can do with him what she will._

※※※

Mateka knew she had lost the enemy lions, but it didn't reassure her at all. _This place sure is creepy,_ she thought as she trudged through the misty graveyard, tensing at every hiss and click that reverberated through the air. Where had everyone gone? There was no trace of any lion, not even the ones that were attacking Kivuli's hunters.

She bared her teeth and growled as she saw four silhouettes appear through the mist. But as they got closer, she realized who they were. "Kovu? Kiara? Vitani?"

"Mateka, are you okay?" asked Kiara.

"I'm fine," she said. "But everyone just disappeared..."

"A lot of them were going down there," said Vitani, nodding at the massive pit off to the side. "Mateka, were they attacking Pridelanders?"

Mateka shook her head. "They're the Tempest Pride. And these lions are going after—" she gasped. "Kopa. He's down there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Vitani. "Let's go find him!"

The five lions leaped down the pit and dashed along its steep wall, feverishly hoping to find the lion they were looking for somewhere within its misty depths.

※※※

Simba was running back towards Mount Tempest as fast as he could. Not ten minutes ago, he had received word from Zazu that Janga's pride was back at full strength and had launched another attack on the stronghold, and he knew that the forces he had left with Malka would not be enough to repel them.

_How are we going to do this?_ He thought. There were still so many teams in the grasslands, and although Zazu was trying to find them all at best speed, Simba knew that it would take a long time for the majordomo to find them all. _I should've known something like this would happen..._

"Simba, over there!" Nala called as their team ran over a hill. He followed her gaze and saw what looked like a score and a half of lions running on a parallel route towards Mount Tempest.

"Do you think they're Janga's?" he asked, panting.

"Can't be," she said. "They're running from a different direction that Janga's forces were coming from. Let's go see who they are."

"Are you sure?"

"They're heading towards the same place as us! We might as well."

Simba roared, signalling for the team to change heading and run towards the massive group of lions instead. It immediately caught the other group's attention, and they began to slow down, whether to talk or to fight them off.

"Identify yourselves!" Simba called as he made his way to the head of the group. The black-maned lion at the front turned to face him, and he couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Malka. Before he could respond, Nala hurried over to a dark-furred male lion beside him.

"Chumvi?" she called. He turned, and his expression was equally shocked.

"Nala?" They slowed down, and Simba lagged off to the side of the group with them as the other lion continued to lead everyone across the grassland at best speed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same! I didn't know you were involved with the Tempest Pride!"

"With all of you, Janga will be in for a fight now," Simba said, deciding to catch up with the details later. "Is this all of you?"

Chumvi shook his head. "We lost one just now. I don't think he's dead, but Kopa could be anywh—"

"Kopa?" repeated Simba. "My son Kopa was with you?"

"Kopa is your son? You have a son?"

"Chumvi!" Nala persisted.

"Sorry! Yeah, he's in the elephant graveyard! I don't know where, but—"

Neither Simba or Nala waited for further details. They both immediately turned and sprinted back where the group of lions had just come from, all exhaustion forgotten as they ran faster than ever.

"Hey!" Chumvi called after them. "You two have a lot of explaining to do!"

"So do you!" Nala replied. "Now get going, Kula's at Mount Tempest and she doesn't even know you're here!"

"Kula..." Chumvi murmured, thinking of his mate and their two cubs that he had never got to see grow up.

The sudden realization that they were in danger gave him a new energy not unlike the one that was flowing through the Prideland king and queen as they raced off to find their long-lost son.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**And so it's reunions all-around for our ****_Six New Adventures_**** characters, or for those who haven't yet been reunited (you all know who I'm talking about), they'll get their turn too...right? You also see where Mateka has been this whole time, and to be honest I was a little surprised that some of you suspected her of treachery. I guess I unintentionally mislead you in the manner of her slipping off, but there you go, now you know what she's up to. Not to mention, Fujo has made clear his intentions at last, and it looks like he's off to wreak more havoc for Malka. Oh, and Kopa's been left at an elephant graveyard I think we're all too familiar with, with his childhood friends in close proximity as well as Simba and Nala on their way to the graveyard. Will they find him in time? You'll find out in the next chapter!**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]**

**Tama:** Jewel

**Kula:** Eat

**[Original Character Names]**

**Taya:** Jaws**  
**


	10. The Heir of Pride Rock

Malka lay alone in his private den, brooding in silence. It was a secluded part of the stronghold, and the silence was so stifling that he felt almost like he could escape time in here. Just him and his thoughts, and a futile desire to escape from the harsh realities that he couldn't escape, not even in here.

He couldn't remember the last time he actually felt happy in this den. Ever since Kumi died, no, ever since he began to have those awful fights with her, this place had never felt like home to him. He had been hoping that after reconciling with his sons, that he would be able to find closure once they took back Mount Tempest from Janga. But now he had returned only to find that he had been ripped open again, and the pain was so fresh that he wasn't sure if he could deal with it. _Janga, what did my son ever do to you? How could you just—_

Malka, shook his head, struggling to maintain his composure. No, there would be no anger, no spite. He was aware of the damage he could do if he let his anger rule his mind. And right now, more than ever, his pride needed him to be rational. _I know what I have to do. Come and find us, Janga. I know you're coming. And I know how to stop you from hurting anyone else._

He wondered where Kopa was now, and if he made it to Mount Kilimanjaro. _Fujo might ask him to stay at Shira Hollow, but knowing Kopa, he would come back anyway._ Malka silently willed for the young lion to stay safe. _Tumaini did everything he could to protect you. I would have taken on that responsibility myself now that he's gone, but...I'm afraid my role in this fight is now much different._

_You must really miss him. You were the one who meant more to him than anyone else for a very long time. I hope you know that. You're too young to have to deal with pain like this; I hope you're coping with it; I hope it's not destroying you the way it's destroying me._

_You saved him, do you know that? He would have lived out the rest of his life alone, hating himself, if you weren't there. You showed him how to love again, how to take care of another's life. You brought out a part of him he thought he didn't have...that _I _thought he didn't have._

_I just wish I had more time with him. Even before he ran away from the pride, it all felt too short—who am I kidding? Those days dragged on and on for me because I was such a terrible father. And after I lost Kumi and them both, there were some nights I thought would never end. But I guess I deserved it at that point. And in a way, I'm glad he left for so long. It must have been the first time he was able to be happy in a very long time._

_All I had left was Fujo. And he was hurting too for a while, I could see that. I knew he was angry with me too—he was right to be. But you learned to let it go, didn't you, brother? You always knew what to do even if I didn't. You risked your life for me, for Kopa, and you're probably the reason I still have a pride right now. You were probably a better brother to me than I was to you. I'm sorry._

_You must have seen Tumaini too when you rescued Kopa. Do you think it's my fault? I'm trying to figure that out myself right now. Take care of Kopa, for your nephew's sake. And...take care of yourself. Afua is going to need you around, since I won't be—_

Malka's thoughts were cut short as Siri walked into the chamber. She looked slightly out of breath, but she managed to pant, "We've finished rigging all the secret passages. And Janga's forces have been spotted in the grasslands, they're approaching fast."

"Good work," he said softly, bringing his thoughts back to the current situation. He didn't think that Janga's pride would be able to find the remaining passages in and out of Mount Tempest, but it never hurt to be sure. And it was necessary for the trap he was laying; in the event that their enemies did come across a passageway, they wouldn't be getting in or out through it. In fact, he had forbidden the two prides from using the passages, since only he knew how to get safely through them.

Malka stood up slowly. "I'm going to the top chamber," he said. "And you know what to do. Keep Janga busy until everything is in place."

She nodded. "Good luck."

He touched his head against hers with a weary sigh. "Take care of yourself, Siri. Alright?"

She suddenly wrapped her paws around his neck in a tight hug, which he returned affectionately. Neither of them said another word, but the gesture spoke volumes more than any words did. The two lions just held each other, immersed in the sorrow of their loss and taking comfort in each other's presence. Malka could tell from the way Siri was shaking that she had begun to cry. _You loved him. I could see it from the day you told me to go after him._

Then they broke apart, reluctant but well aware that their time was short. Siri wiped her eyes with the back of her paw, but her expression was resolute. Malka was glad that she still had the strength to carry on for the upcoming battle. The two of them walked out of the chamber together and walked off in opposite directions, one heading down to meet their approaching foes, the other making his way to the top of the stronghold to carry out his final task.

※※※

Kopa's tumble down the side of the pit was stopped almost gracefully as the curved wall levelled out and ended with him sliding across the rough ground on his stomach. He got up with a wince, feeling around carefully in case he had broken anything. But apart from his singed footpaw and a few bruises, he felt otherwise unhurt.

Not that it was easy to walk normally with a singed footpaw. He sucked in a pained breath as he placed it on the ground, feeling as if someone was ripping the fur out of his paw. Shifting his weight to his other three paws, he limped across the smoky pit, cursing Fujo and looking around for a way to get out of this place.

_Maybe no one saw me fall down here,_ he thought as he made his way silently along the wall, deciding not to go too far in for fear of losing his way out. _Kivuli might have gone after him and the others..._

Kopa felt himself being slammed into the ground without warning, and knew that once again, his luck was working against him. With a growl of frustration, he shifted his weight, flinging the lion off him by flipping onto his back. His attacker tried again, but a clenched paw to the face discouraged him from inflicting any harm. Kopa lunged at his stunned opponent, laying his chest open with a single brutal swipe. The enemy lion dropped immediately.

"I've had enough," Kopa snarled. Leaping over the dead lion, he broke into a dash, not caring anymore whether his paw hurt or not. He ran and ran and ran, not knowing where he was going but determined not to stop until he found a way to get out of this pit.

A trio of enemy lions were running towards him, and he actually sped up to meet them head-on. _I'm never going to give them the slip like this. And I'm tired of running all the time._

Kopa ducked as the first lion lunged at him, knocking him aside with a hard headbutt to the stomach. He sent the lion flying away with a contemptuous punch to the rib cage. Turning around, he moved back as a lioness swiped at him, and he immediately darted forward and sank his claws into her skull as far as he could. She roared and thrashed, and he swiped her across the throat with his other paw, slaying her instantly. The other lioness managed to leap onto him, but Kopa kicked her hard in the abdomen, stunning her long enough for him to crush her windpipe with his teeth.

He stumbled to his paws, casting aside the dead lioness. He looked up to see Kivuli staring him down with ten lions surrounding them.

"You're not going to escape again," the grey lioness said softly.

"If I don't, I'm going to kill you first," Kopa hissed. This only seemed to amuse Kivuli and she gave a scoff.

"You'll have to be able to get to me."

Before he could even take a single step towards her, the ten other lions sprang into action, surrounding him and attacking him from all directions. He fought them off madly, inflicting as much damage as he could and not even bothering to kill them one at a time. He took one lion's claws across his face, and was stabbed in the belly by another's, and his front right paw was sporting bite marks on the wrist. He glared at Kivuli, livid. "Come here!" he yelled. "Come here and fight me fairly if you're not afraid of me!"

"Fair?" Kivuli repeated disdainfully. "You have the gall to tell me about fair? I've never obliterated fifteen of your friends in a rockslide, did I?"

_I'm not going to make it,_ Kopa thought, more angry with himself than afraid. _Fine then. I'll kill as many of them as I can. This is for you, Tumaini..._

A lioness tackled him, throwing him onto his back. He roared defiantly at her, wrapping his unsheathed claws around her neck. She immediately jerked away, and he tried to get up, but the other lions were now holding him down by his paws, and he was too exhausted to squirm free as the last of his adrenaline drained away.

Kivuli strode over slowly, standing over him with a gleam in her silver eyes. "Janga wants you alive, so that's how I'm going to bring you to her. But this time, I'm going to make sure you can't run again. You won't enjoy this, but consider the pain you're about to feel as my token of revenge." She bared her teeth and clamped her jaws hard around Kopa's foreleg, and he couldn't hold back a cry of pain. She kept biting deeper, and he knew already what she was going to do. But all he could do was thrash and scream. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight the agony, but it was no use.

And then a furious roar rent the air, followed by a grunt. Kopa felt Kivuli's jaws release him, and he opened his eyes as the pain subsided. And he could hardly believe what he saw.

A lanky, tan-furred lioness had thrown Kivuli off him and was fighting her with a relentless fervour, her electric blue eyes burning with rage. Although she was clearly younger than her opponent, she was pushing Kivuli back with a greater strength than her thin profile suggested. And although Kopa had never seen her as an adult before, some forgotten part of his mind whispered her name to him, and he knew immediately who she was.

"Vitani," he murmured. The cub in his dreams, now a powerful adult lioness. _She's finally found me._

Vitani's appearance had startled Kivuli's lions, but before they could make a single move, a second lioness bulled into the lions holding Kopa down. Although it didn't do much more than knock them off-balance, it was all he needed to shake himself out of their grip and leap to his paws, ignoring the stinging feeling in his foreleg where Kivuli had left deep bite marks. He forced the lions away with the newcomer's help, and as they retreated, he turned to glance at this lioness.

She was staring back at him as well, and he could immediately see so much of himself reflected in her. Her eyes and fur were the exact same colour as his, and he could see the resemblance in her face as well. "Kopa?" Her voice was very gentle.

Kopa remembered the name Mateka had told him back at Mount Tempest. And at the same time, an image of his mother holding a newborn cub surfaced in his mind. "Kiara..." He knew it was her.

"Oh, Kopa!" she cried, wrapped her paws around his neck. He winced slightly from all his injuries, but managed to smile at his younger sister.

"Look at you, all grown up," he said, embracing her as well. He felt the warmth of her fur on his, and breathed in her familiar scent. He was holding his long-lost sister, touching her. And this was no dream. She was real.

"I'm real happy to see him too, Kiara," grunted Vitani as she ducked one of Kivuli's blows and moved to counter-attack. "But can we catch up later? We're in the middle of something."

"Right," said Kiara, quickly letting go as the lions had gotten over their surprise and were advancing on them again.

Kopa grinned at his sister. "Okay, show me what you can do, Kiara." As he and Kiara intercepted the enemy lions, stopping them from reaching Vitani. Neither of them sought to kill, as there were too many for them to focus on one at a time.

Despite the brief moment of surprise, the three young lions found themselves being forced onto the defensive until they were standing back to back, with Kivuli, Taya, and Kupinga keeping them in place. Vitani was still grappling with Kivuli, but she seemed to have recovered her composure and was giving as much as she got. Kiara didn't seem to be much of an aggressive fighter, and although she was able to stand her ground, she seemed to be struggling to overpower Kupinga. And Kopa himself was barely able to keep up with Taya's attacks, the combination of injury and exhaustion limiting the effectiveness of his attacks.

The other eight lions were closing in now, moving towards them in a single line. _We're going to get swarmed if we don't break free soon_—

A thundering roar, even more powerful than Vitani's, emanated through the pit, and in a flash, two adult lions dashed through the mist and dove into the line of enemies. They both looked completely lost in the frenzy, unable to register anything but the enemies before them. But Kopa knew that they weren't crazed; he could tell from the way the male kept using himself as a shield to protect the female from physical harm. The male was taking hit after hit after hit, and it didn't seem to slow him down in the slightest. Kopa had never seen anything like it before.

Yet the female was also protective of her partner; whenever he would take a blow, she would strike back at the offending opponent if he hadn't done so already. She also kept the enemy lions off his back when he was too busy dealing with the ones in front of him. And even though they were outnumbered four to one, it was clear that they would win the fight. One by one, the eight lions began to fall, the grievous wounds they inflicted seeming to have accomplished nothing against their unstoppable adversaries.

Kiara didn't manage to move fast enough, and she was struck in the face by Kupinga. Kopa immediately moved to cover her, but at that moment, Taya swept his paws out from the ground, sending him falling and hitting his head on the hard dirt. The two lions loomed over them, ready to finish them off.

As if appearing out of nowhere, the adult lioness was behind them, and bit down hard on the back of Kupinga's neck, severing his spine with a _snap_. As Taya turned around, the lioness raked her claws across his torso, ripping open his heart and slaying him on the spot.

Dazed, Kopa looked up to see that all eight enemies lay dead at the male lion's paws, and he was dashing straight at Kivuli. Vitani saw him coming and leaped back just as he slammed the grey lioness to the pit wall. His chest was heaving, and there was blood trickling from the countless wounds all over his body, but he didn't seem to notice at all. And Kivuli felt her nerve fail for the first time as she stared into those terrifying eyes.

And then he spoke. "If you _ever _come near my son again..."

Kopa got up, slowly approaching the lion that he already knew was his father. Simba turned to look at him, and those fierce crimson eyes softened when they met his. The older lion suddenly winced as the pain from his wounds returned and began to sap at his strength. His grip loosened on Kivuli, and the grey lioness wasted no time in scrabbling up the pit wall as she made a frantic escape. Vitani moved to follow, but Nala said, "Let her go."

As Kiara stood and padded over, Kopa moved closer so that he was right in front of Simba. "Father...?"

"Kopa," his father said, a content smile on his face. He slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. "Kopa, it's really you...you're really alive..."

Nala nuzzled her long-lost son, and he returned the gesture, feeling like he was finally complete for the first time. _No, not complete. I could never be complete, now...but it's the best I'll ever get._

Kopa moved to nuzzle Simba too, and he almost cried as he felt his father's blood on his fur. He wanted to shed the tears that he had been holding inside for what felt like his entire life, and he did, letting them flow as if they could help heal the wounds on Simba's body, replace every drop of blood he had lost for him. He wanted to thank his parents for finding him through the tears, in ways words never could.

Kopa opened his watery eyes as he heard three more lions join them. He recognized one of them as Mateka; the other two were both males, the younger one was dark-furred with forest green eyes, and the older one was cream-coloured with a dark brown mane. Kiara turned to them. "Kopa, this is Kovu and Ni."

"Nice to meet you," said Kovu.

"So you're the Kopa I've heard so much about," said Ni with a friendly smile.

"Kovu is my mate," Kiara explained.

"Your..." Kopa shook his head and gave a quiet chuckle. "You really did grow up too fast, Kiara."

"So have you," said Nala, putting one paw around her son's shoulders. She looked over his injuries. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'm fine, mom," said Kopa. "Don't worry about me. But dad is pretty badly hurt."

"I'll be okay," said Simba, trying to stand. Nala carefully but firmly pushed him back down.

"Just rest for now," she said. "We'll all go when we're ready."

"But we have to get back to Mount Tempest," he protested. "They need us."

"There are plenty of lions who can take care of that," she said reassuringly. "There was that lion with Chumvi who was leading the rest of the Tempest Pride to join Malka..."

"Fujo?" asked Kopa, stiffening.

"I didn't catch is his name," said Nala. "But if I had to guess, I'd say he's Malka's brother..."

"I have to go," Kopa said immediately.

"Wait, go where?" asked Kiara.

"I have to find Fujo. Now. There's no time to explain."

"I'll come with you," said Vitani immediately.

"Me too," said Mateka. Kopa nodded, thankful that his two friends were willing to help without asking questions. He turned to his parents.

"Just stay here for now. I want to know you're all safe...and I want to know my father won't be in danger if Janga's lions come here." His eyes swept over Kovu and Ni, and they nodded. He gave Kiara a quick nuzzle. "I'll see you all soon."

Nala stared after Kopa as he began to ascend the side of the pit with Vitani and Mateka. "He's really grown up now," she sighed.

"He has," agreed Simba. "He's taken care of himself so well too. I'm just so glad he's alive..."

Ni walked over to Nala, and she smiled at him. "It really has been too long, Ni."

"I'll say," he said with a laugh. "Your children are older than you were when I last saw you. I'm glad to see things are turning out well for your entire family."

She nodded, looking down at her paws. "Most of my family. Still, it's more than I'd hoped for."

"No, Nala." Ni's expression became serious. "I have something to tell you. I've been trying to find you for so long because you have to know."

She smiled at the older lion's kindness, something that hadn't changed since she was a cub. "What is it, Ni?"

"Your brother Mheetu. He's alive."

"He is?" said Nala, astonished. "My little brother Mheetu...where is he?"

"I have some friends at Mount Tempest, they're your friends too, actually. They know where to find him. Once we deal with Janga...I'm sure they'll be willing to help me take you to him."

Nala's eyes became distant as she stared up at the sky, where the sun was beginning to break over the horizon. She couldn't help but feel as if it was the will of the Great Kings themselves that was helping her put her family back together. She silently thanked them as she looked into the stars that were fading away as the morning light began to creep into the sky. _Mheetu...I hope you didn't forget about me. And I hope I can bring you back to the Pridelands when I find you._

※※※

It was a worse fight than the last one at Mount Tempest. With her pride reassembled, it was clear that Janga meant business this time. And with the numbers on both sides so close to each other, it was clearly going to be a slaughter no matter who won.

_Thank the Kings that the rest of the pride showed up from Shira Hollow,_ Afua thought, standing back to back with the twins Babu and Boga. They were fighting to keep the enemy lions from swarming Kula and Chumvi, the twins' parents and the latter with whom they were very recently reunited. Afua was rather surprised that Chumvi was with the Tempest pride the whole time and it was something his family only discovered now. He also remembered Leo and Sabini, although he really hadn't been expecting them to be here at all.

_It would be a miracle if we all made it out of this alive,_ he thought. Mateka had vanished for a while now, and he hoped that nothing had happened to her. Siri had been looking for her until they received word about an imminent attack from Janga's pride. Now they didn't have time to worry about anything except staying alive and hoping that the two prides would be able to outmatch their enemies and win through a very narrow lead in numbers.

Siri leaped by, knocking a lion to the ground. She killed him without hesitation with one swipe, perhaps a little more ferociously than she usually would. _She's still grieving about Tumaini,_ he realized. As he moved to cover her, he shouted, "Are you alright?"

She glanced at him before turning her attention back to a lioness charging at her. "I'm fine if you don't distract me, Afua." She knocked the lioness flat with a blow to the head, and leaped onto her, clawing and biting until her opponent went still.

"I don't see my father out here," Afua said. "Where is he?"

"He's inside the mountain," she called back. "He said there was something he needed to do."

"Where?"

"Top chamber."

Afua felt his blood run cold. _No, surely he's not going to..._ Striking another lion aside, he said, "Okay, I'm going to find him. Be careful!"

Siri nodded. "You too. There's plenty of fighting going on inside the mountain as well."

_Not for long, there won't be,_ he thought as he rushed through the entrance and dashed through the familiar tunnels with great precision. _Not if my father really intends to do what I think he's doing._

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**And there you go, the moment you've all been waiting for. I know some of you thought I was going to wait until book 5 to reunite Kopa with his family, but come on, I'm not (that) cruel. Besides, bringing them back together doesn't mean everything is resolved just yet, as you can see from the way this chapter ended. In fact, let's not forget that there are still two more stories to follow, not to mention one more chapter after this one.  
**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]  
**

**Babu:** Grandfather**  
**

**Boga:** Pumpkin**  
**

**[Original Character Names]  
**

**Kupinga:** Protest**  
**


	11. The Heir of Mount Tempest

"Most of our pride is inside the mountain now," said Jeraha.

"Good," Janga said. "It won't be long then."

"Janga, this could be a mistake," he said seriously. "What if they trap us—?"

She scoffed. "In Mount Tempest? That's the last thing they'd want. Now come on, let's get going."

Backed by a dozen of their pride members, the two lions fought their way through the lines of the two prides, many of whom were holding their positions outside the mountain. They did look like they were trying to keep her forces inside Mount Tempest. Little did they know that it was exactly what she was counting on.

There were a number of lions barring them, a mix of adults and adolescents. Janga fought paw-to-paw with Kula, who she kept between the others and herself. Kula grabbed her paw, but Janga easily twisted out of her grip and countered, leaving a row of long claw marks down her opponent's foreleg. The brown lioness cried out, but before Janga could kill her, she felt a paw strike her hard on the side of the head. She staggered but managed to maintain her balance, facing the mahogany-furred male that was baring his teeth at her.

"Don't you hurt her," Chumvi snarled.

"Too late," Janga taunted. She moved to attack him, when the twin adolescents intercepted her. Boga tackled her hard, while Babu tried to jump on her. But Jeraha moved just as quickly, and managed to grab him and force him to the ground. Janga recovered from the failed attack and struck Boga away with a hard paw.

"No!" shouted Kula, lunging at them furiously. Jeraha was knocked off of Babu as she and Chumvi slammed into him.

And then she was thrown off to the side as something struck her. The next moment, she was on the ground with Kivuli biting into her neck. But Kula still had a bit of fight in her, clawing her opponent in the chest and forcing her to let go. The two lionesses stared each other down.

"You," Kula growled. Kivuli, however, turned away from her glare to look at Janga.

"Simba's on his way back with...with Kopa," she said with an uncharacteristic urgency in her voice. "Kopa is his son."

"What?" Janga said disbelievingly.

"We have to leave, right now."

"No," said Janga, her eyes on Kula and her two children. "We can still win this, we—"

Chumvi dodged one of Jeraha's blows and slugged him hard on the side of the face. "Look again," he said scornfully. "Do you still think you can win when you're cut off from the rest of your pride?"

Janga had been so focused on the fight that she didn't notice something until now. Every entrance to Mount Tempest was now completely blocked off from the inside, the same way they had been when she had first taken it from Malka.

"Your pride is outnumbered in there," she retorted, although now she had a very bad feeling in the pit of her gut. "And I'll get them open. I've done it before."

"Not in time, you won't," said Chumvi. "And none of your lions will reach Malka before he collapses the entire mountain on them."

Janga froze, feeling overwhelmed with horror for the first time. _Is that what he's up to? Is that why most of his pride is outside? No, he can't. I won't allow this—_

She felt a blunt pain on her flank as something collided with her. She braced herself, sliding across the rock on her paws but refusing to fall. She looked up and saw that standing before her was Kopa. The others seemed to recognize him as well, and were staring at him in amazement. He didn't take notice, however, and was staring down Janga with nothing but hate.

"Murderer," he snarled.

"Murderer yourself," Janga snapped back. No further words were spoken as the two pounced at each other, and like a signal, the others began fighting as well. Kopa, however, paid no heed to anyone but the lioness facing him.

Janga managed to overpower his initial attack and forced him onto his back. He punched her face, causing her to flinch, but she didn't let go, pressing her back paw onto his stomach as hard as she could, until it hurt so much he didn't have the strength to fight back. She moved to crush his neck with her jaws, but as she bent down to do so, he bit down on her ear.

She cried out and reflexively released her grip on him, giving him the chance to strike her hard in the stomach and knock her away before he stood back up. But she recovered quickly and lunged at him again, raking his face and mane with her claws and forcing him to stay on the defensive. He blocked most of her attacks, and moved around her, sinking his claws into her flank. She roared and lashed out with one hind leg, kicking him in the face and causing him to fly back. He hit his head on a nearby rock and grunted as he fell to the ground again, disoriented.

Janga was about to move in and finish him off, but saw that Kivuli and Jeraha were in trouble; the lions they were fighting were joined by more of their allies, and some of them were also moving to protect Kopa from her. She looked around and could only see about two dozen of her own forces compared to the near-four score from the two prides. And her pride was losing nerve as well; one by one they were making use of their only advantage of speed and running from the fight. She knew that it would be no use to stand and fight, no matter how much she wanted to end this now.

She looked to the blocked-off Mount Tempest. _If it wasn't blocked, we could have won this by now. And what do I do? I can't leave most of my pride here to die._ And at the same time, she knew that this was absolutely out of her control. As much as she would hate herself for it, she gave a booming roar and for the second time, shouted, "Retreat!"

She dashed around the lions facing her, cutting to and fro to confuse them and prevent them from catching her. Kivuli and Jeraha had also broken off from their losing fight, and the surviving lions that were still outside turned and fled only too gladly.

They dashed into the grasslands with numerous lions hot on their trails. Janga knew they would lose their pursuers before long, but that wasn't what weighed on her mind. _The others are already dead,_ she thought miserably. _They're trapped. They're going to die helplessly just like the others in the gorge._ And she knew that this time, there was no one to blame but herself. And the thought that her forces were now significantly diminished compared to that of the two prides' was nothing compared to the fact that she had just doomed so many of her friends.

_I won't let you die for nothing,_ she vowed silently, dashing so swiftly she felt like she could almost outrun her frustration. _I'll pay them back for every single one of your lives._

_This isn't over. I will return. And I will not be defeated again like this._

※※※

_Fujo rolled his eyes and let out a sigh as he saw his mother returning with Malka. His older brother looked unharmed, and their mother didn't seem angry with him. Still, Fujo wondered how it was that she wasn't even the least bit annoyed with him._

"_Where'd you go this time?" he asked, not even bothering to hide his exasperation._

"_To this really great place on the other side of the mountains," Malka said eagerly, as if it had just been a really great adventure. Fujo had hoped that this time he got a scare or two so he wouldn't go running off again. But this clearly wasn't to be the case. "It's called the Pridelands. There's this huge rock where this other pride of lions live, and I met these really cool cubs called Simba and Nala, and—"_

"_That's great," said Fujo, sounding bored. From the way Malka acted, he sometimes wondered who really was the older brother between them. "Guess what I did? While you were off running, I had to help move the rocks that were dug out of the mountain. I even had to do your part because you were busy playing in these Pridelands."_

_Malka faltered. "Well...I would've come back sooner, but I got lost. So I had to wait for mom to come and get me..."_

"_Malka, you're _always _getting lost. How are you going to be king one day if you can't take things seriously?" He didn't like to be so disagreeable with his brother, but it had been a long day, and the fact that Fujo had to do more work because of him didn't improve his mood. "Sometimes I just wish you'd get lost and never came back. At least then we'd have a more responsible heir."_

_Malka's cheerful expression faded, and he looked down sadly. "You don't want me around?"  
_  
_Fujo immediately regretted his choice of words. "No, I—I didn't mean—"_

_His older brother shifted away, turning his back to him. "Fine. If I'm so irresponsible, then I won't talk to you anymore."_

_He quickly bound forward so that he was sitting next to Malka. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, I'm just tired today and I don't know what I'm saying. Of course I never want you to leave the pride."_

_Malka looked up at him slowly. He wasn't smiling, but at least he didn't look angry. "I'll be a good king when we're all grown up. In fact, you won't ever have to worry about me."_

_Fujo nodded. "And if you ever need my help when you're king, you can always ask me. I'll be by your side, no matter what. Promise?"_

"_Promise."_

Fujo continued to walk in silence as the recollection faded. That day had been so long ago that he wondered if Malka had forgotten about it by now. But he himself always remembered it, because it was when they had both vowed to do their best for the pride when the time came for them to take that responsibility.

_But he broke that vow,_ he thought bitterly as he ascended another level. He was quite high in the stronghold now, and he was almost there. _He forgot what it meant to not just keep his word to his brother, but to be a proper king. If he even knew how in the first place._

He knew what Malka was going to do, of course. He knew it as soon as he saw Janga's lions coming into the stronghold. _He won't survive and he knows it, but he doesn't care. He wants to die and take most of Janga's lions with him because he's lost Tumaini. Maybe he's lost the will to live as well._ Normally, it wouldn't have been something Fujo would object to; in fact it would have worked greatly in his favour. _But there's just one problem with that..._

He had reached the peak of Mount Tempest, right below the great basin containing the pride's constant supply of clean water. Malka stood inside the chamber before him, about to collapse the relatively small hole from which the water trickled from the basin into the water routes throughout the mountain. The hole was in itself quite large, just about wide enough for a fully grown lion to fit inside. But it was miniscule compared to the damage it was capable of doing. If the hole was broken open, the flood of water that would crash through the mountain would be formidable. It would be so powerful that it would destroy numerous tunnels and tear through the entire stronghold's internal structure. And then Mount Tempest would fall, crushing everyone inside that wasn't already drowned.

_All in all, not a pleasant way to go,_ Fujo thought as he stepped into the chamber. _But it doesn't matter anyway when it's done._ He spoke clearly so his brother would know he was there. "I don't suppose I can talk you out of this."

Malka turned away from the lion-made waterfall cascading past him. "Fujo. Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, I've had some things to sort out," he said, walking closer. "And now I come back to see you about to destroy our home."

"I don't have a choice, Fujo," Malka said sadly. "This is our chance to decimate Janga's pride without bloodshed on our part. I want to do this one thing for my pride...after everything I've done wrong."

"You've got that right, at least," said Fujo quietly. "But I'll have to stop you. You're not going to take this mountain down while I'm here."

"Fujo...brother...I understand this isn't easy. It's not for me either. But now I have a chance to do something right—"

"You had your chance!" Fujo roared, letting loose for the first time all the anger he had hidden from his brother. "You had so many chances I can't even keep track of them all! And every single time I would watch you succumb to your own impulses, your own selfishness, hoping that just maybe you learned something! But you never did. So you'll excuse me, _brother,_ if I don't quite trust you anymore. And you'll understand that I want what's best for the pride, and I'm going to act now..."

Malka was backing away from Fujo, who was advancing on him slowly. There was something in his younger brother's eyes that he didn't quite like. "Fujo, what...what are you doing?"

"Something I should have done ages ago. And now that I have _my _chance to do right too, I'm going to take it!" He shouted the last words just as he lunged at Malka, pinning him to the wall in one move. He didn't hesitate, attacking and hurting every bit of him he could reach. He felt a savage pleasure as he did so, feeling himself let out all the emotions he had suppressed, all the emotions his brother had planted in him. He wanted his brother to feel every bit of pain he himself did before he killed him.

But Malka was able to recover from his shock and pushed Fujo back with a powerful shove. He shifted to an offensive stance, fangs bared. "I'm not your enemy, Fujo."

"Everyone is my enemy now. The only ones I have on my side is the pride, _your_ pride. But they won't be yours for long." The two lions clashed again, biting and clawing at each other. Fujo was surprised that Malka was attacking him so viciously, as if he were the one who had been wronged by all this. But as his older brother began to push him back, he realized that the revelation he had made had awakened some deep inner rage within him. He had never realized just how dangerous Malka really was.

He lunged at Fujo, who quickly darted to the side, causing him to miss and collide hard with a stone wall. He tackled his stunned older brother, clawing at his neck. Fujo managed to leave a long bloody gash, but before he could react, he felt Malka punch him hard in the face, temporarily blinding his eye. He staggered back, more angry than hurt by the blow. "You still dare to fight like this? You still want to be king after all you've _done_?"

"No, Fujo. I haven't wanted to be king ever since Kumi died." Fujo stiffened at the mention of her name, but Malka kept talking. "It became a burden to me. I guess it was always meant to be a burden, I just didn't realize it before. But I know what I did and I've made a promise to make things better."

"You made that promise a long time ago," Fujo spat. "You made that promise to _me_, and you broke it!"

"I know, brother. And I'm sorry I was a poor king to everyone. I'm sorry I've turned you into...this. Maybe all those years ago, you would have made a fine king. But now I can see the darkness in your eyes, and I know that I can't let you take reign. Even if you're my brother, I'll stop you if I have to for the good of the pride." He bound forward again, but this time Fujo was ready. With one ruthless swipe, he tore Malka's chest open, leaving four long, deep gashes on his torso. As his older brother crumpled with a grunt of pain, Fujo moved to stand over him, ready to finish the deadly task he had planned for years. "If you had kept your promise, I would have as well," he murmured.

"I know," Malka said, teeth clenched in pain. "But I never would have believed you could become more of a monster than I was." He tried to stand, but couldn't find the strength, and lay there on the stony floor, blood seeping from his ghastly wounds. He gave a tight smile. "I'm going to miss you, brother..."

"I've been missing you for a very long time," Fujo replied. "Because my brother has been dead to me for years now." He raised his claws. Malka closed his eyes, wishing not for the first time that things had gone differently in his life.

"Get away from him!"

The pride king opened his eyes with a start just in time to see Afua leaping over his fallen form and crash right into Fujo. The two lions scrambled to their paws, their identical eyes locked onto each other.

"Afua," said Fujo, a tone of surprise entering his voice. "You're alive...how could you..."

"How could _you_ do this?" Afua shouted, standing protectively in front of his father. "How could you betray all of us?"

"I haven't _betrayed_ anyone, except my brother who has a lot to answer for."

The young heir bared his teeth. "Well, so do you now. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Because I still have the promise I made to you," Fujo said quietly. "Do you remember my words, Afua? I wouldn't let anything happen to this pride..."

"Great job you're doing," Afua snarled. "How could I have ever trusted you?"

Fujo shook his head. "You're just like Kopa, with the naïve idea that everything were so simple as good and evil." His face became stern. "Stand aside, nephew."

Afua unsheathed his claws. "No. You'll have to kill me."

"If I must," Fujo said with a regretful sigh. Yet he didn't move a muscle. "Afua, don't force me into doing this."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Afua gave him a cocky, humourless grin. "You're going to have to, because if you kill my father, I'm next in line. Not you." The grin quickly became a scowl. "So what's it going to be?"

Fujo paused, as if considering it. Then out of nowhere, he struck the younger lion hard across the face, and in one swift move, tackled him to the floor. "You really do make things too difficult for yourself, do you know that?"

Malka roared with a newfound fury. "Don't touch him!" He struggled to his paws, his brow tense with agony. As Afua backpedalled away and Fujo bound after him, the pride king grabbed onto his brother's footpaw, causing him to stumble. But Malka didn't have enough strength to hold onto him, and the force of Fujo's momentum dragged him forward and caused him to let go and fall on his front with a wince.

Fujo collided clumsily with Afua, and before either of them could regain their footing, both lions tumbled off the edge of the hole where water rushed down the large vertical shaft from the basin above them. "No!" Malka shouted, trying to reach the chasm but having only enough energy to crawl slowly towards it.

Fujo had managed to grab onto a protruding part of the stone not far below the lip of the hole, although he was dangling very precariously above the seemingly bottomless drop. Afua was clinging to one of his footpaws, dangerously close to the deadly jets of water that could rip him free and send him falling to a horrible demise.

Fujo looked down at his nephew, who was clearly in far more danger than himself. It would be so easy to make him let go, or even let go himself and send them both to their deaths. But he already knew that his plan was irreversibly destroyed, as he couldn't get rid of both his brother and his nephew in a convincing manner. But Afua's chances of survival were getting shorter with every second, and despite every terrible thing Fujo had done, he wondered if he really could bring himself to kill his nephew.

_Janga killed Tumaini out of spite, and nothing more. I can't do that, not to my own family._ And for the first time, he felt a shudder course through him as an old part of himself resurfaced. _Have I really done all this for nothing?_ Malka had been changing for the better, it was something Fujo had known ever since Kopa had come to Shira Hollow with Tumaini. _But by then the plan was already in motion. It was too late to back out...or was it really because of me?_ Was it because he didn't _want _to accept that Malka was no longer who he used to be?

_I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to know my pain._ But with Tumaini dead and the knowledge that his own brother had betrayed him, how much further could Fujo really go? _I can kill his only remaining son. The last true family he has. _Afua was staring up at him with no fear, just anger and disappointment, waiting for him to act. _I truly control the fate of my family now. For the first time, the choice is mine alone._

Fujo shifted, trying to stretch out his other footpaw as far as he could. "Climb onto my back, Afua."

Malka, who couldn't see either of them, but was still agonizingly making his way to the chasm, froze when he heard the words. What was Fujo up to?

Afua hesitated, as if unsure whether to trust him. But the older lion simply waited, and sure enough, he felt his nephew's paws grab his without further hesitation, and slowly shimmied up his hind legs. Fujo's could feel the rock loosening under his claws. _It can't take both our weights like this._ "Afua. _Hurry._"

Afua managed to find purchase on his uncle's back, and from there it was easy to grip his shoulders and reach up for the lip of the hole. As he made his way up, he heard Fujo whisper in his ear. "Take good care of your pride. Don't make the same mistakes your father did."

Afua gave a cry of alarm when he heard an ominous cracking in front of him. His heart skipped a beat as the chunk of rock Fujo was grabbing broke loose; Afua felt himself hanging in mid-air for a fraction of a second, then his claws dug into the stony floor beside the hole as his uncle fell away from him. He stared down as Fujo plummeted into the abyss without a sound before being swallowed up by the darkness.

Afua hauled himself safely out of the chasm, and he walked over to Malka silently. The pride king just stared at the water rushing past them, placing one paw around his son in an embrace. "Are you alright?"

Afua nodded, although he didn't look it. "You're hurt," he said dully.

"I'll live," said Malka with a grimace. "I don't think I'll be moving around very much for a while though..." He stopped talking when he heard the own hollowness in his voice. "He saved you, didn't he?"

His son nodded again. And despite all the emotions of hurt and betrayal they both felt from the lion that they had trusted so much, Malka felt a tear run down his face. Afua looked down at his paws. "He was always there for me, before...before I..." His voice broke.

"The worst part was that I understood completely how Fujo felt," Malka said sadly. "And in a way, I really did let him down. I let all of you down. But no more. From now on, I'm going to be a better father to you. You're all I have left, I...I can't lose you, Afua..."

"You won't," his son whispered, hugging him tightly. "I should have come back a long time ago, but I didn't...and I must have hurt you so much. You're never going to lose me again."

As father and son sat in the chamber alone, both finding comfort in the other's presence, Afua thought about Fujo's final noble act. _He's become so twisted and bitter these last few years. I hardly recognized him when I saw him again. But I just can't bring myself to hate him. Because I know how it feels to lose so much to your own family._

But it was all in the past now. Afua knew he would never be like Fujo, but he silently vowed to live by his uncle's last words to him. And although he no longer had a brother to conflict with him, he knew that the kind of childhood he had with Malka was something he never wanted anyone to have to relive.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**And so we say goodbye to another character, one of my most morally ambiguous and unpredictable too. I dunno, how do you feel about Fujo's death? After his unprovoked betrayal of Kopa, I noticed Asante commenting on how Fujo became cemented as a villain, but after reading this, would you still say so?  
**

**Well, this story's not done quite yet, so go ahead and proceed to the epilogue as I wrap up book 3. I'll have more to say once you do so :)  
**


	12. Epilogue

Simba was brought back to Mount Tempest by his family in the morning. Although Kopa had known his father was injured, he was horrified the extent of it all when he saw him again. _He didn't seem to feel a thing when he reached Kivuli. But now he can hardly even move around._ The others told him that he would be fine, but he couldn't help but worry. After all, it had felt like a lifetime since he had last seen his parents, and he didn't know what he would do if he lost them.

Simba was to be kept under careful protection, as was Malka, since both of them were heavily wounded and very vulnerable. It would have been ideal to place them both in Mount Tempest's most secure dens. But at the moment, the two prides were forced to stay out on the open ground around the stronghold.

Afua, resting in the grass beside Kopa, sighed. "The entire mountain practically belongs to Janga's lions now. This place never feels like home to me anymore."

Kopa couldn't help but laugh. "You think you've got it bad, wait till I go back to Pride Rock. I'll bet I don't remember a thing about it."

His friend smiled. "We'll see. There are...some things you can never forget about."

Kopa nodded, knowing what, or rather, who, Afua was thinking of. He changed the subject, not feeling like he was ready to talk about it yet. "I thought it was you who convinced Malka not to collapse the mountain."

"I did. But that's because it wouldn't have done anything."

"What?"

"Yeah, I went up to the basin last night. Turns out there's not enough water left in it to flood the entire mountain."

Kopa exhaled. "Guess we should hope for the rain to come soon then."

"Yeah. But until then, my father's decided we're going to have to deal with those lions the hard way. And...I'm not quite sure I'm ready to say goodbye to this place. I mean, I just got back."

The two young lions were silent as they lay in the field. Kopa wasn't quite sure how he felt about meeting his old childhood friend again. When he had found out about Afua at Shira Hollow, he had been only too eager to see him. Now he felt as if his happiness was tainted by the memory of Tumaini. He didn't mention this though, since it would be unfair to Afua. _I just wish you got the chance to see him again. _"Malka told me what happened with you and Fujo."

Afua nodded. "I really wasn't expecting it. Especially after all the things you told me he did."

"He was an enigma, that's for sure. Still, I wouldn't have made it out of Mount Tempest without him...and neither would you. So in a way, I owe him."

Afua looked to the cloudless sky, a faraway look in his eyes. "Before he died, he told me to take care of the pride, and not to make the same mistakes my father did."

"Your father is a great lion, Afua," said Kopa firmly. "He's made some mistakes, but he's different now."

"I know. It's just...not going to be the same. Now that it's just my father and I."

"Well, I'm always here for you. You know that, right?"

Afua nodded, giving him a small smile. Kopa felt an ache in his heart at seeing that smile; it reminded so much of Tumaini's. "Yeah. Same here. What are friends for?"

Kopa saw Mateka walking over out of the corner of his eye. Afua nodded at her and quickly got up. He walked off towards Siri, who was talking with Babu and Boga not far off.

"Hey," Mateka said. "Your family wants to see you."

He nodded and followed her around the outside of the mountain, still thinking about the events of the last few days. He remembered when he had been looking for Mateka in the elephant graveyard the previous night. "Listen, I..." Kopa began. She stopped, turning to face him. "I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. It was...very brave of you, and I'm glad you're okay." He coughed, feeling a bit awkward that he was addressing one of his old friends like someone he just met.

Mateka laughed and kept walking with him, looking rather amused at his discomfort. "Don't mention it. I mean, I was looking for you out there this whole time, so it would have been out of the question for me to just stand around and watch those lions catch you by surprise. My mom gave me a real grilling about running off alone, but like you said, I'm okay, aren't I?"

"She's not mad at you, is she?"

"Oh, no. Just relieved when she saw me. And then she introduced me to my father. He's kinda funny, you know. Keeps these bluebirds with him all the time. But he's a nice guy." They walked past a circle of lions sitting around the royal family, and she winked at Kopa. "Well, I guess I'll leave you with them. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

Kopa approached his family, still feeling a bit out of place. Kiara and Kovu looked up from where they were sitting when he reached them, and he saw his parents smile as they saw him.

Vitani flashed him a grin. "There's our hero. The one who brought down a rockslide on Janga's head."

Kopa smiled modestly. "Only by accident." He walked over to Simba and Nala, both of whom were lying comfortably on the grass side by side. He nuzzled them, enjoying the feeling of simply being with them. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Well, why don't you start?" Nala asked, nudging her face fondly against his. "We're all waiting to hear what you've been doing these last few years."

"Nothing much, really," Kopa admitted, smiling. "Just living out every day in the forest, relaxing, nothing to worry about."

Simba laughed. "No worries? I must say, I know a thing or two about that."

Kopa looked around at them all. "So what did I miss? Tell me what's been going on in the Pridelands while I was gone..." He grinned at Kiara. "...and why my baby sister already has a mate."

Kiara punched him none-too-gently on the shoulder, but her eyes were twinkling. "Alright then, should I start?"

Nala nodded. "Go ahead."

Kopa spent the entire day talking with his family, catching up, exchanging stories, or simply enjoying their company. As the morning progressed into afternoon and eventually faded into night, he felt a great contentment steal over him. He sat in the soft grass, knowing that the peace would be brief but deciding to make the best of it. Although Tumaini's death still clung heavily to his heart, he knew that his old friend would have wanted him to be happy whenever he got the chance. He looked to the starry sky, hoping Tumaini was at peace now and wondering if he was up there in the heavens.

Janga wouldn't be hiding forever, and some part of Kopa just knew that they would meet again someday. But for now, he put her out of his mind and laid down between Vitani and his father, who was already fast asleep. He closed his eyes, thinking of the day that all this conflict and pain would be over and he would be able to return to Pride Rock. As he drifted off to sleep, the image of Sarabi appeared in his mind, her kind face ageless and carefree.

_I made it, grandmother. I'm with them now. And one day we're going to bring peace back to these lands. I'll do it for you, because you tried so hard to find me. Now I know what I have to do, and I won't let you down._

_I'm going to make you proud of me._

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

**And there you have it, the conclusion to _Kopa's Legacy: Heirs of the Pride._ I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I'd just like to thank you all once again for your show of support and sharing your thoughts with me. It's nice to see that you're so interested in reading my work because it means I've really made this series come alive, which is something every writer wants to be successful at. I hope this was a satisfying ending for you (not a cliffhanger for once, and probably the closest I'll get to having a happy ending out of these five books). And now before I force you all to wait an entire month for book 4, I'd like to ask you to do one last thing for the time being. I've set up a poll on my profile page where you can post your rating of this story, and remember that you only have about 30 days to do so before I take it off my page. If you didn't get the chance to vote on your favourite _Kopa's Legacy_ characters, don't worry, it'll be back once I start posting chapters to _Kopa's Legacy: The Prince's Retribution_. Thanks again for reading and have yourselves a great Christmas!  
**

******—IncarnateFirefly**


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